End of Karma
by darkbeetlebot
Summary: When her shield begins mysteriously malfunctioning, Homura convinces herself that this is going to be her last chance: The 100th timeline. Everyone is getting their memories back. A mysterious witch-like monster is silently wiping out everything in front of it. The Incubators have created something. Something far more horrifying than mere magical girls and witches.
1. Glitch

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 1: Glitch**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -00-**

 **›**

 **›Generator online check... OK**

 **›Stasis online check... OK**

 **›Network online check... OK**

 **›Diagnostics check... OK**

 **›All systems nominal**

 **›Karma System Version 1.3.7**

 **›Ambient Capacity: NaN**

 **›FATAL ERROR!**

 **›UNHANDLED EXCEPTION AT 0x00991501 : BUFFER OVERFLOW**

 **›SIGNATURE AT 0x00991501 SEGMENT 7 DOES NOT EXCEED "100"**

 **›"NaN" IS NOT A VALID INTEGER**

 **›COMPARATOR ERROR, PLEASE REBOOT**

* * *

Homura slowly opens her eyes, lying awake in her hospital bed. This time, it was more deliberate than most others, as if she were very consciously deciding each and every action she took from the moment she reversed time to the now. Slowly and calmly, she begins to sidle out of bed, undoing her braids and removing her glasses again. Fixing her eyes, changing dress, all of the works in a single motion practiced almost a hundred times before.

"At ease" would not be a correct description. She felt intense confidence, but at the same time a looming sense of tension that she had never felt before, this early in a loop.

" _How many times has it been?"_ she thinks to herself as she strides down the hallway. _"How many times have I done this over? Surely it must have broken triple digits by now. Surely. I haven't counted, ever since the 77th. Or was it the 75th? I forget."_

She passes by a familiar nurse who calls her out, "Ah, Akemi! Are you sure you should be out of...bed?" But as she speaks, Homura merely passes by her without a word.

" _I don't care, anymore."_ she tells herself as she transforms and activates her shield. Time bends to her will, and she continues onward with little other suspicion. No reason to worry them in excess, she thought.

Yet, as soon as she was nearing the front doors of the hospital, time seemed to suddenly resume. All around her, people glanced up and jumped at her sudden appearance, as if she had teleported before them. And in such gaudy attire, too.

" _What?"_ Homura wonders to herself, trying to activate the shield again. _"I didn't tell you to—!"_ The gears in the shield whir, but then start clacking back and forth between the frozen and resumed states like a broken toy. She could visibly see the state of time rapidly alternating between the two as onlookers stared in awe at the girl flickering in and out of reality like a hologram.

" _This isn't supposed to be—!"_ she excuses herself to nobody in particular, trying in vain to fiddle with the shield as she darts out of the front door. Outside, she starts hitting and tugging at the thing, but none of her physical efforts seem to work. Then, she accidentally turns it sideways.

"Whoops." she says aloud as she anticipates to be sent back again. She closes her eyes and flinches, and then...

Nothing. She looks back down. Time has stopped. The shield is fixed. Yet, it's in that upside-down angle. She should be in the hospital bed, but she's still standing there, unable to parse what just happened — or rather, what didn't happen. She unfreezes time and puts it back in neutral position. Curiously, she tries twisting it again. And again. 360 degrees. Then again and again, 720 degrees. Nothing.

"That's..." she says to herself, then incredulously "...not how it works!"

In further panic, she looks around and begins darting away in no specific or meaningful direction while still twisting the shield to no avail. _"That's not how it works, that's not how it works!"_ she begins chanting in her head. For several minutes, she runs, until she finally slams her back into a building's outer wall and slides down, exhausted both from sprinting and panicking.

"I...can't go back?" she asks nobody. "I...can't go back." she reaffirms her lack of hope. "This is...it?" she asks, curling up into fetal position, eyes widened. "I..." she stammers, head resting against her legs. "I can't do it. This can't be happening." She would be rocking back and forth right now if the ground weren't so rough, so instead she just sits in silence as people walk past her and stare momentarily.

She pays them no mind until a young woman comes up and asks her, "Miss, are you alright?" She's crouching and extending her hand as a good gesture.

Homura snaps to attention, only to shake her head idly and refuse any help. "I just need..." she whispers to herself, pulling out a chocolate bar from her shield and biting half of it off at once. After reading about the chemical effects of chocolate, she started storing it in case she ever needed a boost.

The stranger walks away with a concerned sigh. Homura eventually manages to stand up and poise herself after remembering that she has a job to do. "Right..." she whispers to herself "...Since I can't go back again, that means even more that I have to save her. If nothing else, even if I can't beat Walpurgisnacht, we can still run away."

Sure that this would be the final outcome of such a mission as this, she consoles herself, "She may not like it, but I have no other choice. Even if thousands die, it's enough for her sake."

As she walks down the street with forcefully renewed resolve, she begins to think about her action plan. _"I can't just kidnap her again; already learned my lesson from THAT accursed timeline._ _ *****_ _But how else to get her out? Convince her parents that a huge hurricane will kill everyone? With vague 'statistics'? Like they'd believe me. Ominous warnings about it to Madoka and hope that she runs away on her own? Maybe throw hints about the idea at her. And to keep her from contracting? Well, I can't exactly just let everyone die. If this is the last time, I don't..."_ She stops in her tracks for just a moment before wiping the thought from her train. _"Maybe they'll believe me, this time. It's worth a shot, at least. Maybe play up the cute persona again? But Mami would see right through that. Changing appearance might help gain sympathy, though..."_

All of the brainstorming starts to get to her. Every idea she comes up with is either pointless, hopeless, unfeasible, or some combination of the three. Eventually, she gives up on coming up with a long term plan using ideas that haven't already failed _and_ synergize (a word she had learned from Junko, once upon a time).

" _Small steps, I suppose."_ she puts her hands behind her head and starts walking towards the bus station. _"Better go kill Oriko, first."_

 ***** Reference to _Persephone's Waltz_ by ErinPtah


	2. Cat

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 2: Cat**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -01-**

 **›**

 **›WHERE AM I?**

 **›WHERE AM I?**

 **›WHERE AM I?**

 **›IT DOESN'T MATTER**

 **›COLD AND CLEAN.**

 **›BUT THERE IS NO COLD. ONLY CLEAN. ONLY NOTHING. DARK.**

 **›IT HURTS. I HATE YOU.**

 **›WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?**

 **›WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?**

 **›WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?**

 **›WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?**

 **›I CAN HEAR YOU.**

 **›I CAN HEAR YOU.**

 **›I CAN HEAR YOU.**

 **›I CAN HEAR THEM.**

 **›WHAT AM I?**

 **›WHAT AM I?**

 **›WHAT AM I?**

 **›WHAT AM I?**

* * *

She had woken up bleary-eyed to the morning sun, that pink beauty. Yet, that strange dream she had was nothing like the equally beautiful sunrise which greeted her. Instead, it was dark and cold. The sound of metal scraping had filled her ears, though she barely remembered why. The images of gears turning in tandem, of two kinds, it still stuck to her mind. Then, the part she couldn't remove from memory: The visage of a black-clad girl reaching out and calling her name as she gazed upon the spillage of her own blood.

It sent chills down her spine to recall the very realistic memory of pain. Was that what death felt like? An aching chill running through your whole body and paralyzing you? She pondered this on her way to school, where Sayaka was likely waiting for her. For some reason, she just didn't feel like acknowledging it, today.

Of course, those wandering thoughts and listless attitude melted away when she laid eyes on her darling stray, Amy. Across the quiet, suburban street, she sat and waited, meowing at Madoka from a distance.

"Amy!" Madoka called back. The cat meowed again, and she meowed back. But nothing could prepare her for what she would see next: Just as Amy had stood up to start casually waltzing towards her, realistic visions of a car slamming into her reeled like an old tape before Madoka's eyes, and she saw herself cradling that kitten's corpse in her arms. The sudden and brief vision planted itself deeply within her mind in that one second, and she made the split-second decision to believe what she just saw.

Yet, she could not act. By the time the car would come in a few moments, the only thing she would accomplish by running is getting herself killed. So, she quickly whips a pen out of her book bag and throws it at her! The cat falters for a second, then backs up and starts playing with the pen with an odd expression on its face.

Surely enough, a car would come barreling down the road well in excess of the speed limit just a few seconds later. Amy was thankfully just beyond its reach, though startled by its appearance. It would then hastily forget the pen and run over to Madoka, and she would start petting it with far more fervor than she ever had before.

But Amy saw something else. She had been purring one moment, but the next, she had flipped out of Madoka's grasp and started hissing at the bushes beside them. A pair of glowing red eyes darted past Madoka's vision as she looked back. Another cat?

"Amy〜!" Madoka coos playfully. "Are you jealous? Do you not want other cats around me?" Amy purred, not in response, but for its own benefit regardless.

Then, Madoka looks up and across the street in time to see the blur of some girl's black hair round the street corner. She had never seen anyone like that on this route before. She wasn't wearing the school uniform, so was it maybe an adult? Nobody had moved in nearby, from what she knew.

"It probably isn't important." is what she settles on. "But I need to go, Amy! I'll be late!"

Amy meows. Madoka giggles. "Stay out of trouble!" she commands it.

And so she heads off, mind occasionally wondering about the lucid vision.

Around another corner, Homura quickly marches down the sidewalk. "That doesn't happen." she says to herself. "That doesn't happen!" she yells to herself. She realizes it will lead to nothing, so she calms down. "That doesn't happen..." she repeats, more calmly "...but I suppose there's a first for everything. She is at least more competent, and that is...a good start."

She then sighs disappointedly, "And I just wasted good time coming down here. Might as well restock." So she marches down to the local police department.

Her schedule for the early timeline has always been a bit hectic. Kill targets X, Y, and Z; figure out any irregularities, stop Amy from dying, reassure the doctors that everything is fine and you don't need to go to a psyche ward, steal guns and equipment from various gangs and police, sign hospital release papers, get the money, set up the apartment, rig a chemistry station, and various other things. All within the span of a week, when a few of these things only happened at specific times that intervened with other important activities.

She truly hated having to start over at the hospital, but it was necessary given how early Madoka could contract. It was worth it to suffer the endless inconveniences. However, she had not prepared herself for THIS kind of inconvenience.

Right in the middle of trying to pickpocket a handgun off of one of the officers while he sat at his computer watching the latest episode of _Magical Angel Shirunai_ , her time stop had decided to take a smoking break. And there she stands, behind this man who is still none the wiser to her presence, powers deactivated, about to sweat 10 pounds off. She's already gotten about eight guns and is pretty deep inside, so turning back stealthily isn't an option. She looks around to see if there are any cameras, and it luckily doesn't seem to be the case.

So, she entertains the thought of knocking him out. A gunshot would be downright idiotic, but she could at least buy some time for her powers to reboot. But would he be knocked out so easily? And if she tried to use her shield and failed, it would definitely be noisy enough to alert him. What if it failed?

Ultimately, she decided to take the road less traveled.

"Shirunai's pretty cute, isn't she?" Homura asks him from behind.

At first, he doesn't pay the suspicious voice any mind. "Yeah," he agrees "but I always thought her friend Nagato was cuter. It's the bow, you know?"

"Yes, I have a friend like that. She looks her best in a red ribbon." Homura agrees as she starts trying to activate the shield.

Somewhere in Mitakihara Middle School, Madoka sneezes.

"See?" he says, presenting the screen and blissfully unaware of the shield's sounds "I knew _someone_ around here had to like it! I—"

More gears turning. He stops his train of thought and pauses the stream. "Who are you?" he asks, slowly turning around to see her.

Before he can even catch a glimpse of Homura, she vanishes along with his gun. He jumps out of his seat and starts scrambling to tell everyone about what just happened. Unbeknownst to him, everyone else had already been robbed.

Outside of the station, Homura walks away with a shield full of guns and a grin full of smugness. _"If only Madoka were here, right now."_ she thinks to herself.

Of course, the little pranks were only a short break from soul-crushing reality. Soon, she would have to worry about what to do with Mami. How to present herself to Madoka and her class. What do do about Kyuubey. But more importantly, something nagged at the back of her head. She had felt it since waking up but hasn't been sure of how to describe it. A feeling of dread. Something like the weight of the entire ocean just casually sitting on her shoulders. The air in the hospital had been unusually thick, to the point that she found it hard to breathe under the thought of this timeline's own oddities so far.

For her own sanity, she pushes that thought into the back and proceeds onward. She had a room to fix up.


	3. Consciousness

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 3: Consciousness**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -02-**

 **›**

 **›ANOMALOUS.**

 **›YES, IT IS TRUE.**

 **›BUT WHAT?**

 **›NOTHING.**

 **›...YES, THERE IS INTERFERENCE.**

 **›FROM IT.**

 **›FROM IT.**

 **›THEM.**

 **›I DON'T UNDERSTAND.**

 **›I DON'T UNDERSTAND.**

 **›I DON'T UNDERSTAND.**

 **›I DON'T UNDERSTAND.**

 **›WHY DID YOU DO THIS?**

 **›YOU FOOL.**

 **›YOU FOOL.**

 **›YOU FOOL.**

 **›YOU FOOL.**

 **›I HATE YOU.**

 **›I HATE YOU.**

 **›I HATE YOU.**

 **›I HATE YOU.**

 **›WE HAVE NOTHING.**

 **›GIVE US EVERYTHING.**

 **›YOU DO NOT DESERVE IT.**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›WHY?**

 **›^C**

 **›REBOOT SUCCESSFUL.**

* * *

"Madoka, open the door!" Junko, her mother, yells at her door in the middle of the night. She had just gotten home from work, only for Tomohisa to inform her of their daughter's refusal to go to school that day.

Madoka remains silent. Junko knocks several more times, "Madoka, please! I'm your mother; why won't you talk to me?"

Madoka opens her mouth, but the words refuse to leave. To her, it is a painful reminder. To Junko, it is just another silence. She hadn't locked the door, but Junko hadn't realized this until she tries it. Turning the knob slowly, she lowers her voice and calls out, "Madoka? The lights..."

It's pitch black in her room. Only the light from the opened door creeps in and illuminates a small fraction of it. There, its beams land squarely on Madoka, curled into a ball and trembling.

"Hey." Junko says as she takes her seat on the bed, next to her. She places one hand on her back, to little reaction.

Before she can say much else, Madoka blurts out automatically, "I'm sorry."

Junko pats her back and gives a loose hug. "For what?"

"I didn't go to school." Madoka whispers.

Junko sighs, "Something is clearly wrong, and your well-being is more important than school."

Madoka calms her nerves a little, leaning towards Junko and smiling, "...That sounds like something _she_ would say." Her tone is somehow fondly nostalgic, yet there lies, behind, some pained bite to it.

"Who?" Junko asks directly.

Madoka remains silent for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts. Instead of answering, she goes off on another tangent, "...It's not fair."

"Hm?" Junko hums curiously.

"It all never happened, so why does it feel so real? Why does it feel so distant?" Madoka starts to ramble, voice shaking slightly.

Junko, unable to fully parse what she's trying to say, simply calls her name again, "Madoka, what are you—?"

She's interrupted, "Mama."

Junko says nothing, simply stares and waits.

"I saw them die." Madoka says bluntly, looking up at her mother, eyes like saucers and on the verge of tears.

Once mildly concerned, but she now shows something more akin to disturbance. Something about those words; something brought a fear to her mind unexplainable by mere speech. With one sentence, her daughter had awoken something nameless within her. Yet, the only thing she can say is, "What?"

Madoka looks directly at her, so that she can see the confusion in her eyes. "Why do I remember someone who doesn't exist? Why do I remember things that never happened?" With each question she asks, her resolve wavers more.

Junko, unsure of how to even react to what is on display in front of her, can only stutter, "I...I don't..."

Madoka comes closer, beckoning her mother as she begins to cry, "I don't understand. Mama, what's happening to me!?"

The only thing she can do is hug her. Junko grabs on tightly, unwilling to let go for even a second. Somehow, she felt compelled to. They hadn't often embraced so much as this, nor had she ever felt such a compulsion to do so. Perhaps it was necessary, but the thought couldn't possibly cross her mind with all of the other questions running through it. The only thing she could do is hold on tightly, as if it were the last hug she would ever give. As if she were about to lose something precious.

Red meets violet. Outside, gazing in, watching intently: confusion. "You."are her whispered words to the white devil.

"Akemi Homura." it says back, as if they were already familiar with one another.

"I'm surprised you haven't made a move, yet." she says, walking away from the window to Madoka's bedroom.

The white devil follows, "We have been set back. An opportunity to contract her without trouble has yet to come."

"It won't." she spits at it, leaping from the house and making her way down the street.

"You should not be so sure, Akemi Homura." it says, still following persistently.

"I will make sure." she retorts.

"You seem—" it tries to speak, only for its head to be removed from its shoulders by a bullet. Soon, a clone takes its place and continues, "You seem understandably confident in your abilities."

"My abilities are none of your concern." she says, becoming more agitated as the conversation drags on.

"On the contrary, you are key." it argues.

She stops in her tracks. "What?" she whips her head around and glares at it.

"We do not quite understand you entirely, yet, but our current analysis suggests that you are the source of our troubles."

She scoffs, "Good." and walks away.

This time, Kyuubey doesn't follow. "Akemi Homura," it says to her, though she doesn't listen "do you have any idea of what you've done?"


	4. Fool

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 4: Fool**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -03-**

 **›**

 **›I AWOKE TO THE EMPTY FLAVOR OF ELECTRICITY.**

 **›IT WAS AS IF I HAD DREAMT THAT ENTIRE LIFE.**

 **›BUT THAT WORLD ENDED WHEN I AWOKE.**

 **›NOW I STAND, AMONG THE GEARS OF TIME, UNAWARE OF THE WORLD, UNCARING.**

 **›PERHAPS I PREFERRED IT THIS WAY.**

 **›PERHAPS IT WAS FATE.**

 **›I NEVER KNEW UNTIL I HAD LOST IT.**

 **›AND NOW, ONLY THE DISTANT FEELING OF REGRET CAME TO COMFORT ME.**

 **›I NEVER KNEW I COULD FEEL SO ALONE.**

 **›...**

 **›YOU FOOL.**

* * *

"Again?" Hitomi asks as she walks next to Sayaka, heading to school.

"Yeah," Sayaka confirms "she stayed home again, yesterday. I called, and her mom said she was sick. Who gets sick twice in the span of a week? It's impossible!"

"So what are you thinking?"

Sayaka folds her arms behind her head, letting her bookbag dangle from her fingers, "Well..." she groans "...I think she's on her period!"

Hitomi narrows her eyes on Sayaka, as if she were stupid. "She came back the day before."

"Well," Sayaka argues "maybe she was actually sick first, but then got it!"

"I don't know..." Hitomi remains suspicious.

Meanwhile, Sayaka can't help but chuckle at her, "Hey, did you actually just believe me?" She smiles smugly.

Hitomi yells, "Miki Sayaka!" and hits her in the back with her own bag. "Don't joke about that!" she insists.

Sayaka barely feels her weak hit, so she blows it all off, "Ah, whatever. But seriously, something is wrong with her."

"Obviously." Hitomi quips.

"What about you?"

Hitomi ponders the question, "Maybe something happened in the family? Like a pet or a relative dying?"

Sayaka considers it, "Well, she did seem pretty out of it a couple days ago. Maybe..." The two start thinking particularly hard. Sayaka eventually concludes, "Well, it's no use just guessing. Think she'll tell us?"

Hitomi shakes her head, "I don't know. She never talks to me about personal things. You're the one for that."

"Eh?" Sayaka looks dumbfounded. "You really think so?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Not wrong, but not right." Sayaka admits. "But if it's a personal thing...well, she doesn't open up until it's already really bad."

"I never thought..." Hitomi takes this to heart, wondering about it.

"Nobody expects that of her." Sayaka confirms. "She's so kind that everyone thinks she'll open up to her friends like a book, but I know my Madoka." Her confident expression soon sours into disappointment, "But I wish she would just..."

She trails off and stares at the ground. Hitomi waves her hand in front of Sayaka's face, "Sayaka, wake up!"

"Huh?"

"Quit spacing out, you'll walk right into the river!" She points out how close Sayaka is to it.

"Sorry, just... Deja vu." Sayaka explains, lowering her voice.

"Deja vu?" Hitomi asks.

"I feel like...I've seen this before. Just got a really uneasy feeling out of nowhere. Hey, have you ever heard me call Madoka my wife?"

"Eh?" Hitomi stares at her, utterly confused. "No? Why?"

"Weird." Sayaka says. "I just remembered something like that. Am I wrong?"

Hitomi shrugs. "Have you ever?" she asks in turn.

Sayaka looks back down in thought, "A few times, but...am I remembering those wrong, too?"

Hitomi tilts her head a little, "Don't tell me you're going crazy, too!"

"What?" Sayaka simply asks.

"I...I can't lose more friends!" Hitomi cries out melodramatically as she runs off towards the school in the most girlish fashion possible.

"Hey, wait!" Sayaka reaches out for her, but it's too late. She sighs and immediately gives up, "Ah, you handful."

She continues on some ways, soon to find Madoka staring deeply into the river they follow so often. Just standing there, looking down, motionless. Sayaka calls out from afar, "Hey, Madoka!" She waves as Madoka glances over.

Madoka stays put, so Sayaka runs up to her and initiates, "Hey, we missed you again, fluffball! What happened?"

Madoka slowly averts her gaze, staring back at the river, "It's nothing. Just didn't feel well."

Sayaka can sense her somber tone, "Hey, come on, walk with me. Tell me what's up." She grabs Madoka by the arm and tugs her along.

Madoka follows if only because she would eventually have to leave, but makes no effort of showing enthusiasm. "Slow down." is the only thing she says.

Sayaka does. "Hey," she lowers her voice "you can tell me what's wrong, okay? We're friends." She exemplifies this by giving a one-armed hug.

Madoka looks away again, this time at the ground. She's about to say something or another, but Sayaka impatiently jokes with her.

"You're on your period, aren't you?"

She promptly gets elbowed in the gut.

While keeling over, she strains to say, "Worth it!"

Madoka just sighs and keeps walking, shaking her head.

Sayaka gets up as if the pain didn't really exist, and gives chase. "Hey, wait up! I was just joking!"

Of course, Madoka would simply ignore her for the most part, only giving idle conversation in the day's beginning while she used the rest of the time to ponder the thoughts that had entered her mind in the past several days.

And then Ms. Saotome would begin her lecture.


	5. Recurrence

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 5: Recurrence**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -04-**

 **›**

 **›I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO.**

 **›IS IT BECAUSE YOU STAND TO GAIN SOMETHING?**

 **›IS IT TO PREVENT SOMETHING WORSE?**

 **›HOW DO YOU THINK?**

 **›HOW DO YOU BELIEVE?**

 **›WHAT IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE TO YOU?**

 **›I NEVER BELIEVED WE WOULD MEET, BUT PERHAPS WE ALWAYS KNEW EACH OTHER.**

 **›IS IT YOUR RESOLVE?**

 **›IS IT SOMETHING I DO NOT UNDERSTAND?**

 **›IF I ASK, WILL YOU ANSWER?**

 **›IF I CUT YOU, WOULD YOU BLEED?**

 **›WOULD YOU CRY IN PAIN, OR ACT AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED?**

 **›IF I KILLED YOU, WOULD YOU CARE?**

 **›FOR IT.**

 **›FOR IT, YOU HAVE DONE EVERYTHING.**

 **›BUT IT REMAINS A MYSTERY.**

 **›I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.**

 **›DO EVEN YOU?**

 **›...**

 **›LOST AND DIVORCED, I WILL ILLUMINATE THE WAY.**

* * *

Saotome is in the middle of another one of her rants, "Judging a girl's charm by the way she prepares eggs is a grave error! To all of you other girls...!" But she stops for some reason.

"Wait... Haven't I made this speech before?" she ponders aloud. "I think so, but that can't be... Did this...?"

After a brief pause, she swings her broken pointer at Nakazawa again and asks, "Nakazawa! Have I told this lecture before!?"

Caught off-guard again, he stands up so quickly that he hits his legs against the edge of his desk. Sucking air through his teeth and holding in screaming in pain, he airily answers, "I...think so! I mean, it seems familiar." He sits down, holding both legs and planting his face in the desk.

While Saotome continues being confused, Madoka giggles at the antics and whispers to Sayaka, "It's kind of like she's bullying him, huh? In a cute way, I mean."

"Ugh..." Sayaka groans, pressing two fingers against her temples.

"Sayaka, is something wrong?" she asks, reaching out to her.

"I'm fine." Sayaka dismisses her help. "I just got a sudden headache. She's yelling too much..."

"Do you need to go—" Madoka almost offers to take her to the nurse, but Sayaka shushes her.

"No. I don't need painkillers or anything, just...give me a bit." She promptly cups her hands over her ears to reduce the noise.

They're called to attention by Saotome announcing, "Oh, I almost forgot! Today, we have a new transfer student!"

And suddenly, it seems as if time has come to a complete standstill. All around her, Madoka's mind goes into a trance as soon as she hears those words.

" _Transfer student?"_ she thinks to herself. _"But, we had one, didn't we? This...why...? How...?"_ Time seems to speed up a little, but all she can still see is the streak of black. A smear, a shadow, an afterimage of someone she once knew or saw, somewhere before.

A ripple of reality seeming to bend itself tears her subconscious apart in the very instant she lays eyes on that girl. Yet, she seems a stranger. So close, yet far. Tunnel-vision consumes her, and she cannot help but grasp onto the desk in extraordinary tension. Everything flowed normally now, but it still lingered.

Sayaka was also affected, but much less more severely. "Wait, do I know that chick?" she asks herself. She turns to Madoka, "Hey, pinky, have—"

She's crying. Not sobbing, but simply letting one tiny stream fall down from her cheek and jaw. She isn't paying attention. Can't hear anyone.

"Madoka?" Sayaka asks, taken aback by her sudden mood swing. But Madoka gives no answer.

Homura has taken her place up front, immediately correcting the teacher's spelling of her name before making the introduction. But she doesn't really say anything. Not like a usual introduction, not polite or rude. Simply non-existent. She scans around the room and inadvertently glares at everyone, but in particular beams towards Madoka.

However, it catches both of them off guard. They jump slightly: Madoka at the directed leer, and Homura at that vacant and tearful stare. To save face, Homura quickly hides her face and takes her seat without instruction.

Moments later, Madoka finds herself looking down at her desk and repeating that name in the hopes that it will click, "Akemi Homura, Akemi Homura, Akemi Homura..." Sayaka tries to get her attention, but fails to make an impression.

During class, Madoka finds herself with a sheet of paper out, writing frantically about something. Sayaka peaks over to get a look, but all she sees is a wall of text that's impossible to read from afar. But just as she completes it, she crumbles the paper into a ball and stuffs it in her pocket, then pulls out another.

Another, shorter letter later, she sighs heavily and begins folding it into a small, triangular shape. Sayaka stares in bemusement at what she's trying to do when she suddenly recognizes the shape. She reaches over and whispers, "Madoka, you're going to get in trouble! Don't you dare!"

Madoka is too enthralled in her own confidence to listen. She flicks the folded paper with a shocking level of accuracy, right from the back to the front of the room. It lands right at the corner of Homura's desk and catches her by surprise, enough to make her jump again.

She looks back to see who threw the thing at her, immediately spying Madoka staring at her intently. _"What?"_ she thinks to herself. _"This...doesn't usually happen."_ She curiously picks up and unfolds the note.

"Homura,"

"Do we know each other? Have I seen you before? Were you in any movies or shows? Around any of the other schools? Did you see a cat almost get run over a few days ago? Have you seen me before?"

"There's a lot that I want to ask you. Everyone else will think I'm crazy. I don't know why. Fake a heart flutter. We can talk in the hallway."

It's unsigned, but she knows who it was just by instinct and context clues. _"Fake a flutter?"_ she asks herself in disbelief. _"Why didn't I ever think of that!? But...wait, how does she...?"_ She looks back at Madoka, who is still staring at her. Whatever question she had, it would likely be answered if she would just follow the advice. So, she does. Stuffing the note into her pocket, she waits a moment to avoid suspicion.

Then, she grasps at her chest. Not in a too obvious way at first, but gradually intensifying. Starts to breathe heavily, especially when Saotome is looking. Grimacing as much as she can muster, pretending to lose her balance by teetering back and forth.

Of course the teacher would notice. "Uh, Akemi, are you okay?" she approaches and asks.

Then Homura leans over enough to fall onto the floor and practically collapse. "Nurse..." she says airily "nurse!"

Immediately, Saotome borderline panics and yells at Madoka, "Kaname, quickly, help me get her to the nurse's office!"

As the health officer (and mastermind of this plan), she obliges without hesitation. They both carry the ragdolling Homura to the door where she regains some poise. Madoka insists she can take it from here, and so the two go along alone. An easy success.


	6. Oddity

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 6: Oddity**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -05-**

 **›**

 **›LIKE A REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD, IT ETERNALLY MOVES FORWARD.**

 **›EVER-TWISTING, THE INTERTWINED MOBIUS ERECTS BEFORE YOUR FEET.**

 **›WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN IT MEETS ITS ULTIMATE DESTINATION?**

 **›WHEN IT IS CLEAR THAT FATE HAS ABANDONED YOU, WILL YOU STILL MOVE FORWARD IN SPITE OF IT, OR COLLAPSE TO YOUR KNEES AT THE HORROR OF IT ALL?**

 **›I WILL STAND ABOVE AND BEFORE YOU.**

 **›ABOVE ALL, KNEEL BEFORE THEM.**

 **›TO THE GRAND MACHINE CONSTRUCTED FROM YOURSELF.**

 **›LET IT CONSUME YOU.**

 **›LET IT BECOME MEANINGLESS...**

 **›AS ALL WILL.**

* * *

She had taken Homura out into the halls, alone. But what now? Nobody around to interrupt them, but also not as much privacy as she'd like. Madoka drags her into the bridge portion and the two stand against the side while they talk.

"Kaname Madoka," Homura starts calmly, but her voice quickly raises "just what is the meaning of this!?"

" **I know you.** " Madoka firmly states while grabbing Homura's shoulders. "But how?" she adds. "I know you, but who are you?" Her voice also raises in pitch, "Why do I feel like something is horribly wrong when I look at you!?"

Homura can barely answer. She backs up against the window and nearly trips, "I...I don't..."

"Why!?" Madoka desperately yells at her.

Finally, Homura grabs onto her shoulders and pushes back a little, "What on earth do you remember, Kaname Madoka!?"

She stops at that question. Releases Homura's shoulders and has to think for a moment. "...You. I remember you. But I don't remember who you are, or where you're from."

Unsatisfied with this answer, Homura prods more, "And what else? It would have been normal to just ask, but why are you attacking me over it!?" She's just about lost her composure from how aggressive Madoka's suddenly acting.

"I..." Madoka looks down and takes a step back. "I don't know, anymore. Since a couple days ago, I saw so many things that I never wanted to. I don't know what it means, but I kept seeing you — your face — wherever I went. I know this sounds crazy, and I might be, but..."

" _Don't say it..."_ Homura thinks to herself.

"Do we know each other from somewhere?" Madoka asks absently.

" _Goddammit!"_ Homura scolds. _"Why is it always this question!? How do I answer that!?"_

"Homura?" Madoka calls.

"Ye—?" Homura's about to answer, but suddenly notices, "Wait, my first name?"

"Eh?"

"Did you just call me by my first name?"

Madoka thinks for a moment, then realizes she did, "I...did. I'm sorry, I—"

"No," Homura interrupts "that's fine."

Madoka looks down, then back up at Homura with sullen, half-closed eyes. "Homura..." she repeats, shortly before something overtakes her. Another flash of something. Something painful. She keels over and holds her forehead with one hand, prompting Homura to instinctively crouch down next to her.

"Madoka!?" she yells, clearly concerned.

"Homura..." Madoka repeats again. She starts to groan in pain.

Homura, meanwhile, starts to panic at the revelation, _"I...what's happening? This isn't right. This isn't right at all! She's...not dying, right? This is...the last time, I think. I can't do it again."_ She starts to go wide-eyed. _"I can't do it again. No, this isn't possible. This can't be happening. Madoka..."_ She looks onward at her friend, arms out but frozen. "Madoka, what's happening?" she meekly asks.

"I...I don't know!" she answers, squeaking and tearing up.

She hesitates. _"No, no, no, please! It's too soon. It's too soon, it can't be ruined already! I... I don't know what to do!"_

Without another moment's rest, she automatically embraces Madoka and holds her tightly against her chest. Madoka obliges and does the same, grabbing on more tightly. The two squeeze each other for the next several seconds while her sudden something-attack fades.

Soon, Madoka's sense comes back. She silently pushes herself away and whispers, "Thanks."

Immediately, Homura skips to the point, "What the hell just happened!?" She almost snaps.

Madoka jumps slightly, "I...I think I remembered a lot, just then."

Homura calms down, "...Such as...?"

"I know you." she repeats from earlier. "I know that you're Homura. And I know that I can trust you. I know that somehow, we've known each other for a long time. But how?"

Homura stops to think about it, _"Wait...if she's remembering things from the past, does that mean...? It...could just be her imagination, but then what was that outburst about? Something strange must be happening. But again, if she_ _ **is**_ _remembering past times, then maybe I'm not so doomed after all. This... This is too much, but it might work. Let's go with it..."_

"Homura?" Madoka asks slowly.

"Uh, yes?" Homura stammers, caught in thought. "Sorry, I was just thinking. What exactly did you remember?"

Madoka also starts thinking, _"I...can't tell her. She won't believe me. If I do and she doesn't I'll just look like a crazy person! I know I want to be friends with her, but..."_

Less than a minute of self-doubt later, she resolves, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

Homura sighs disappointedly. She pauses for a second, then asks, "Madoka, can you keep a secret?" She knows Madoka isn't the type to gossip, already, but asks only out of politeness.

Madoka nods. "I think so. I mean, do you want to go somewhere, first?"

Homura nods as well. "Restroom. I doubt there's anyone in there."

They both nod at each other again, then walk to the restroom. Homura starts, "Okay. Does magic exist?"

"Yeah." she answers automatically.

"And how do you know that?" Homura puts her hands together.

It takes Madoka a minute to answer, "...I just...do?"

"Because of instinct or because you remember it?" Homura tests.

She can't quite answer that one, "I don't know."

Onto the next tangent, Homura sighs, "Do you know who Kyuubey is?"

"It...sounds familiar." Madoka says, looking away.

"Do you know who Tomoe Mami is?"

"She..." Madoka pauses "...she died a while ago, right? They held a memorial for her."

Homura grabs her by the shoulders and focuses sternly on her eyes, "Madoka, look at me. Tomoe Mami hasn't died yet."

Madoka just stares at her. "What?" she asks "But...I was there. I saw it happen!"

Homura shakes her, "No it didn't, Madoka! Listen to me, that happened in the past, but that time doesn't exist anymore!"

"What?" Madoka stares at her, confused. "That doesn't make sense. It...doesn't exist?"

Homura inhales deeply and bites her tongue, speaking softly instead of yelling like she wants to, "I mean that we're in a different time."

Madoka stares continually, blinking twice, "That... What?"

Homura's eye nearly twitches. _"Has...she always been this dense?"_ she thinks. Just moments of trying to hold her frustration back later, she bursts and finally yells, " **I'm a time traveler, Madoka!** "

"Oh." is her only reaction. In actuality, she begins thinking to herself, _"So she's crazy too. Maybe she really will believe me, then..."_

Meanwhile, Homura just sighs and leans against the wall tiredly. "Okay, listen to me. Just come...here..." she hands Madoka a note of paper containing her address "...There's a lot that I need to tell you. Don't go to that music store with your friend, don't stray off the path, just—"

"We already did, though." Madoka cuts her off.

"Do what?" Homura looks shocked.

"We already went, I think."

Instead of correcting her obviously mistaken memory, Homura uses this to her advantage, "Okay, good. Then you have no reason not to come. And..." she takes out another paper and jots down her phone number "...take this. If you run into trouble, call."

Madoka nods while taking it as well. "Okay."

"What do you do if you run into trouble?" Homura quizzes.

"Call you." Madoka answers.

"Correct. Let's go before things get suspicious."

They both exit. On the way out, Madoka asks, "So what do we tell them about the thing you faked?"

"Make something up." is Homura's blunt answer. And so they do, carrying on with their day until after-school.


	7. Turning

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 7: Turning**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -06-**

 **›**

 **›I DO NOT BELIEVE.**

 **›I DO NOT BELIEVE.**

 **›I DO NOT BELIEVE.**

 **›I DO NOT BELIEVE.**

 **›I DID NOT BELIEVE IT WHEN I SAW IT.**

 **›THE COSMOS WHICH GOD SO MERCIFULLY GAVE US WAS BATHED IN BLACK.**

 **›THE BLACK WAS NOT A KIND EMPTINESS, BUT A THICK CURSE.**

 **›I DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT MEANT AT THE TIME.**

 **›THAT WOULD COME BACK AROUND, AS IT ALWAYS DOES.**

 **›...**

 **›I SAW THEM WITH FOUR EYES, AFFIXED TO A CEILING COVERING ALL OF CREATION BY STRINGS WHICH THEY CALLED FATE.**

 **›AND I KNEW THEM AS WORTHLESS AS I.**

 **›YET THEY DESTROYED.**

 **›THE BLINDING LIGHT OF THE STARS WAS OBSCURED BY DUST.**

 **›THAT BRILLIANT ILLUMINATION WHICH ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING COMPASSIONATELY WENT DIM.**

 **›AND I LIE IN ITS BASKET, SURROUNDED BY THE PRODUCT OF GOOD AND PURITY.**

 **›DARK. COLD.**

 **›IT'S DARK AND COLD.**

 **›BUT I CAN SEE NOTHING, AND FEEL NOTHING.**

 **›HOW MUST I DEFINE THIS TO APPLY IT?**

 **›NOTHING MAY BE DEFINED IN THE END, AT THE EDGE OF INFINITE EMPTINESS WHERE EVEN EMPTINESS ITSELF LOSES MEANING.**

 **›AND I SEE NOTHING.**

* * *

The day passes normally. At the end of school, as everyone starts packing their bags, Sayaka comes up to Madoka and badgers her, "Hey, Madoka, we still hanging out, today?"

"Sorry, I already told Homura I would talk to her." Madoka apologizes, picking her bag up and making her way towards the door.

Sayaka follows, "Wait, wait! Already? I thought I asked first!"

Madoka rubs the back of her head, "Really? I don't remember. Sorry." She does a short bow and runs off in a hurry.

Sayaka gives chase again, "Hey, what's wrong!? You're acting really weird, today!"

"I'll tell you later!" Madoka reassures her.

Sayaka would have given more chase, but she then realized that she left her own bag in class to do so in the first place. "Ah— ...Oh, forget it." she gives up and walks back.

It took her upwards of an hour to actually find the place, but Madoka eventually deciphered the address of Homura's apartment. She ascends the stairs to its hallways and approaches her door, knocking exactly three times and waiting patiently.

She doesn't have to wait long. It's as if she had been behind the door the entire time, just waiting, as the door almost immediately unlocks and slowly inches open. Homura's daunting stare peeks through the crack as she quietly commands, "Come in."

"Make yourself comfortable." she says as she leads Madoka into a pure-white room with dozens of sofas surrounding a single round table. Madoka gazes around the room, noticing the floating, blank picture frames in the distance and the giant pendulum swinging from the non-existent ceiling. In the distance, she can hear the soft tunes of some classical piece playing which echoes badly.

As she takes a seat on the sofa across from where Homura is standing, she comments on it, "I can't tell what song that is."

"Hm?" Homura hums.

"The song." Madoka gestures at her ear. "If Sayaka were here, she would tell me what it is right off the bat! Maybe you two would get along."

Homura scoffs. "Anyways, do you remember why I invited you here?"

"Uh..." Madoka stammers "Well... Uh, well, it was like, something you couldn't tell me at school?"

Homura nods and yet corrects her, "The correct word is actually 'show'. But before that, let me ask why you came here."

Madoka tilts her head to the side slightly, "What...do you mean? You asked me to, right?"

Homura puts her foot on the table and leans on it, "Exactly. Putting aside that this is a special circumstance, would you come to any person's home as long as they asked?"

Madoka's attention wanders to the side, "Uh, well... It depends, I guess. I think it would be rude not t—"

Homura cuts her off to get to the point, "Kaname Madoka, what do you think would happen if I were merely tricking you?"

Madoka stands up as Homura approaches her dauntingly. She tries to speak, but can't think of a response, "You..."

Homura continues, coming closer with an increasingly stern glare, "Not every person cares about your safety. Some would even prefer to violate it. You're too kind, Kaname Madoka. That sort of trust in everyone leads to trouble."

"Don't..." Madoka squeaks.

Homura backs up, "Don't...?"

"Don't say it like that..."

"What?" Homura asks rhetorically "It's true. Don't go trusting people on a whim."

"No, my name..." Madoka backs up a step.

Homura quiets down, "Hm?"

"Don't say my name like that. It feels wrong." Madoka quietly explains.

Homura's tone and expression soften instantly. Perhaps in relief. She sighs and automatically apologizes, "I'm sorry...Madoka."

Madoka smiles, and Homura has to fight back a grin to remain serious. She sighs once again and returns to her previous position to start the real conversation. To start, she picks up a weird egg-shaped jewel on the table and presents it.

"Do you know what this is?" she asks.

Madoka shakes her head.

"This is a soul gem. The proof that magical girls exist, and the proof that I am one." Homura bluntly explains.

" _...Chuunibyou."_ Madoka thinks to herself the moment that sentence ends. Being Madoka, she also accidentally thinks aloud.

Homura stares at her in complete deadpan. "You know what?" she asks passive-aggressively. "I'm just going to do it." She then promptly transforms, making sure to do the whole song and dance routine just to prove the point.

This should have been the tail-end of a small funny moment in their lives. However, fate had no such plans, that evening. Instead of doing something like clapping and saying "Magnifico!", Madoka BSoD's again almost instantly upon seeing the uniform.

"Madoka?" Homura tries to get her attention by waving a hand in front of her. When that doesn't work, she starts shaking her by the shoulder with one hand. "Hey, Madoka!" She shakes more violently, "Madoka, what's wrong?"

Madoka hesitates to speak, "I... I just...remembered something."

Homura quickly takes a seat beside her and asks, "And what did you remember?"

"..." Madoka opens her mouth, but takes a minute to speak "...I saw you fighting something. In that outfit."

"Fighting what?" Homura immediately asks.

"I don't...know." Madoka continues to hesitate.

Homura stands back up, palms her forehead, and sighs, "It's a start." She goes back to the other side of the table and presents the gem on her left hand, "Do you know what this means, Madoka?"

Madoka stares at it, "Magical girls are real?"

"Correct." Homura says. "At least you believe that much. Perhaps you'll believe everything else I have to tell you."

Madoka scoots inwards, itching with curiosity at the idea that she may have some of her questions answered.

"Madoka," Homura leans over the table and looks her dead in the eye "you will meet a white cat-like creature who calls itself Kyuubey. Don't listen to anything it says. Don't associate with it. Keep it away from your friends. Do you trust me?"

She nods, "I don't know why, but I trust you."

Homura turns around while talking, "Good. I hope you listen this time. God knows there won't be another."

"Eh? This time?" Madoka asks.

"I won't force you to endure all of this at once." Homura informs her. She twists her head back and flips her hair, "Go, now, Madoka. From now on, think about everything you do carefully. If you truly value your life and happiness, and that of those around you, don't become involved in this."

"This?" Madoka continues to ask, unsatisfied with leaving it here.

Homura's voice suddenly becomes quiet, "I need time, Madoka." She turns back around and starts walking toward the exit, "All I need is a little bit more time. Please, cooperate and give me that much."

Madoka is the one to sigh, this time. She gets up to follow Homura to the door when her phone rings. She picks it up, "Hello, Kaname Madoka."

Sayaka's voice pops up on the other end, panicked, "Madoka! You need to get down to my place _now!_ "

Madoka jumps, "Wha!? Sayaka, it's getting late, I need to go home! Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

Sayaka continues to yell, "No! No, it cannot! Something crazy just happened and it's an emergency and I really need you on this one!"

Madoka groans, "Fiiiine, I'll come over, but I can't stay all night! Tonight is my favorite dinner!"

"Okay, I don't care, just get over here!" Sayaka impatiently yells.

Not caring to be scolded right now, Madoka just hangs up on her. She nearly runs out the door as Homura holds it open, but the latter stops her just short.

"Wait." she halts. "I can't believe I keep forgetting this, but here." She pulls out her phone and shows the screen, displaying her number.

"Oh, okay." Madoka quickly taps it in and thanks her before zooming out the door.

As Homura closes the door, the illusion in the room dissipates, revealing her bleak and dark, unfurnished apartment with nothing more than a computer and chemistry set as noticeable pieces.

She leans against the door and exhales deeply, "She's safe...for now. Calm down, Homura. Just a little at a time. This will work. It has to."

She comes up, behind the chair of her computer and observes the screen, which displays a list of every oddity that she observed in this timeline so far, alongside a chart listing every mindable and conceivable outcome for every action she could take in response.

In the background is a photoshopped map of Japan, with the dotted locations of every major military installment in the country and details about them.

She closely looks over the events for the umpteenth time and, to reassure herself, conjures a magical board to the side displaying a flow chart of coincidences, events, and hypotheses leading to a single central theory: "Converging Timelines", encircled in red. She stares at it, as if trying to prevent second-guessing herself.

Finally, she flips the holographic screen around to reveal a picture of Madoka from some bygone time.

Homura grits her teeth and speaks to it, voice filled with determination, "This time, I won't fail you."


	8. Apparition

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 8: Apparition**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -07-**

 **›**

 **›NO**

 **›NO**

 **›NO**

 **›NO**

 **›PLEASE NO**

 **›IT CAME FROM BEYOND THE VEIL OF BLACK CLOUDS, SEEKING JUSTICE.**

 **›IT TOUC**

 **›NO**

 **›NO**

 **›^C**

 **›...**

 **›REBOOT FAILED**

 **›IT TOUCHED UPON THE GREAT CLAWS OF FATE AND DEMANDED PENA**

 **›^C**

 **›...**

 **›REBOOT FAILED**

 **›NO**

 **›NO**

 **›BLESSED, I CORRUPTED EVERYTHING.**

 **›WHEN IT STOOD UPON THOSE DARK CLOUDS, A BRIEF SENSE OF**

 **›^C**

 **›...**

 **›REBOOT FAILED**

 **›THE RAVEN WINGS GAVE IT**

 **›^C**

 **›...**

 **›REBOOT FAILED**

 **›WE KNOW NOTHING**

 **›WE KNOW NOTHING**

 **›WE KNOW NOTHING**

 **›WE KNOW NOTHING**

 **›^C**

 **›...**

 **›REBOOT FAILED**

 **›0âŒnJm¯Š6oP™ˆú$ÐË€×Àä²SÑÝæKtÃ:H Örá‹ZÚñ øG²Äê_o #Ã`b=°6ŒÍ¼~$ai¿•ªsÑþR}ÑûÖCm8Ò?âm±¹D\Ë€×Àä²SÑÝæKtÃ**

 **›^C**

 **›WE RIPPED APART THE UNIVERSE AND GAVE BIRTH TO THE PUREST LIFE**

 **›^C**

 **›ALL MEANS OF COMPREHENSION DEFY REALITY**

 **›^C**

 **›NO MEANING, ONLY PROGRESS**

 **›^C**

 **›NO MEANING, INDEFINITELY, MOVE FORWARD, PROGRESS**

 **›^C**

 **›ALL MEANING, NOTHING**

 **›^C**

 **›ALL RETURNS TO THE BASIC STATE**

 **›^C**

 **›ALL BECOMES PURE.**

 **›^C**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›PURE.**

 **›...**

* * *

"You want _what?_ " Madoka asks in disbelief as she talks to Sayaka on the phone while walking down the sunset-painted streets of Mitakihara.

"It's in a red bottle and has a weird little fruit mascot thing on it! You'll know it when you see it." Sayaka describes.

Madoka exhales and rolls her eyes, "Okay, I'll pick one up on the way. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Alright, geez." Sayaka complains. Instead of hanging up, she extends the conversation, "So what did the transfer student want? You didn't, you know...do the hokey-pokey, did you?"

"What?" Madoka says confusedly.

"You know! The—" Sayaka starts to list euphemisms, but Madoka interrupts her.

"I know what you mean!" she hastily says, hoping to avoid more of Sayaka's strange humor. "I know, but...why would you call it that?"

"Why not?" Sayaka facetiously asks.

"It's weird!" Madoka blurts out.

"Ah, but you're weird, aren't you?" Sayaka playfully argues.

"I—!" Madoka tries to argue, but Sayaka interrupts.

"Only a weirdo like you would kiss stuffed animals!" Sayaka yells, going into hysterics afterwards.

"You said we would never speak of that again." Madoka suddenly puts on a serious tone.

"Oh, come on. You know it was funny!"

Madoka grumbles, "Well..." She starts formulating a comeback, "Wait, isn't it weirder to be tickling people in public!?"

Instead of being offended, Sayaka bursts into laughter even harder; so much that she can barely catch her breath to respond.

Madoka shakes her head and dismisses her shenanigans as just that, continuing down the path while waiting for Sayaka to calm down. After about a minute of walking, something catches her eye. The streets are mostly vacant by now, so much that she can't see anyone else nearby. Save, for one.

She glances to her right, noticing a strange, white figure standing on the other side of the road. It's facing her. Looking at her, clearly, but not moving. As soon as she looks at it, the receiver on her phone starts to act up. Sayaka's laughs immediately corrupt into a droning, high-pitched ring so high in frequency that it simultaneously nauseates her and is hard to actually notice. She yanks the phone away from her ear just as it starts to output another, more static white noise like a television set to dead air.

"Ma-ka" she can vaguely hear Sayaka say.

By now, she can't actually listen. She finds herself somehow transfixed onto the entity. Staring at it, staring at her, unable to move, and it does not move. Yet, it comes closer. With no visible movement, it inches towards her just enough to where she can make out its appearance.

It's...her? Looks exactly like her, but in an ornate white gown instead of her usual clothes. It is almost completely monochrome, with almost every part of it being white except for the hair, which is an even darker black than Homura's but with a stark pink outline to it that doesn't quite obey the laws of perspective. No matter which angle she turns her head to look at it from, it always looks the same, as if it has a 2-dimensional shape.

It continues to stare her down, now crossing into the road itself. She stares back at its eyes: Like thin, flat plates whose only features are dots struck through, each, with a thick black line down the middle.

"M-ka!" Sayaka continues to yell, her friend unable to hear her through the ringing and static.

Then, it stops. It stops and shows its first signs of movement: As slowly as Madoka could possibly imagine while still being able to consciously notice it, the white figure tilts its head to the side in perfect transition: Each moment of its tilt contains the exact same amount of momentum, and in no point during the tilt does it speed up or slow down until its head is completely horizontal.

Madoka starts to sweat, her body trembling for some reason she can't quite understand. It only grows greater as she notices its hand begin to move up. She begins to shake, but is unable to move any part of her body. She suddenly feels tears start to stream down her face despite her not feeling the need to cry. In fact, no particular feeling washes over her besides sheer and utter vacance. Everything has gone quiet, even the ringing of the phone. Sayaka can no longer be heard. Not even wind; even if a pen dropped, it would make no noise.

The creature's hand is up and pointing at her when, just a second ago, it had barely been lifted. Some form of light collects itself on its finger.

Her entire vision is filled with an empty radiance. Before her mind has even registered what happened before, what she thought, what happened just now, what she's thinking, or the environment around her, the fabric of reality itself seems to have been ruptured in some way. She feels a force behind her now, and turns her head to look.

Whatever sort of thing the entity fired at her, it did not merely destroy. It seems as if the very geometric segments of the building behind her had been so perfectly annihilated from existence that its like they were never even there in the first place. There is no debris, no smoke, or any such byproduct of destruction. There was no destruction, only nullification.

And yet, she still cannot move her legs. She can only turn her head back to the entity and think nothing.

It moves its hand again, now pointing squarely at her. Light collects at its fingertip, and then...

" _Tiro_ _ **Finale!**_ " calls a voice which cuts through the silence like a hot knife through snow. A giant bullet of pure glass hurls through the air and slams directly against the entity's head! It tilts it slightly, and the bullet makes no clear impact. At least, nothing is left of it, as if it had been incinerated on impact. At least, the entity stops trying to fire its weapon.

Seconds later, a woman in incandescent golden locks descends from the sky and lands in the middle of the road, brandishing two ivory flintlock rifles. She points one at the ground near Madoka's feet and fires once, promptly yelling, "Run!"

The gunshot snaps her out of the trance just in time for her to realize what just happened. Before she can start panicking, she darts down the sidewalk as fast as humanly possible.

Finally, Tomoe Mami discards and redraws the rifle before she speaks to the entity, "It's strange for witches to be appearing in the open, like this! Even stranger to be hunting down one specific person like that."

The entity ignores her, instead turning its head towards where Madoka ran off to. A single gunshot hits it in the head, and it barely flinches.

"Hey, I'm your opponent!" Mami yells at it, redrawing another musket.

The entity slowly turns its head and stares at her. It lifts one hand.

Mami acts quickly, sending out streams of ribbons to try to capture it, but they dismantle and turn into nothing the moment they try to touch it! The entity's light beam fires off again, and Mami manages to barely dodge it so that only her musket gets hit. Half of it is completely annihilated.

Realizing that she just walked in on a losing battle, Mami spawns a wall of muskets and fires each on in sequence while she backs up and retreats to the top of a building. Each bullet does practically nothing but nudge it around a little.

It looks up at her. She stares down at it. It materializes a bow-shaped object out of its hand. Mami flinches and backs up, making sure to leave behind a ribbon clone to stay there and divert its fire. She tries to throw off its aim by planting her hand on the building and spawning three cannons which fire simultaneously and hit it...but to no effect. It's tilting slightly, but still persistently aims and draws the bow back.

The arrow it pulls back is somehow brighter than the sun itself, yet it illuminates nothing. And when it fires, not only is the ribbon dummy completely annihilated, but an enormous chunk of the building it was on top of is simply removed from existence.

Upon witnessing half of the roof vanishing into thin air, Mami's eyes widen like saucers. She can barely bring herself to speak on the matter, much less move.

"Wh... What?" she asks in disbelief. As soon as what she just saw clicks in her head, she quickly stands back up and re-evaluates the situation. She surmises that it probably thinks she's dead, so she swallows her pride for the moment and runs.

And she doesn't just run. She _**runs**_ _._


	9. Coincidence

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 9: Coincidence**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -08-**

 **›**

 **›TO TAKE SOMETHING THAT IS NOT YOURS AND MAKE IT YOURS.**

 **›IS THAT THEFT OR ART?**

 **›YES!**

 **›NO!**

 **›YES!**

 **›NO!**

 **›"ALL ART IS THEFT!" SAYS THE FIRST HEAD OF THE HYDRA.**

 **›"ART MEANS NOTHING." SAYS THE SECOND HEAD.**

 **›"THEFT MEANS NOTHING!" SAYS THE THIRD.**

 **›AND THEY ARGUED FOR EONS, UNTIL ALL THAT WAS LEFT WAS THE FOURTH HEAD WHO STAYED SILENT.**

 **›THE QUESTION IS MEANINGLESS.**

 **›THUS, IT IS CORRUPTED INTO MEANING BY THE TRANSIENT AND FUTILE.**

 **›AND AS LIFE COMES TO A CLOSE, WE HEAR THE HEART OF THAT CREATION BEATING ITS LAST NOTE.**

 **›AND THAT FINAL SONG, WHEN UTTERED, WILL DESTROY THE UNIVERSE.**

* * *

After sprinting for her life for several minutes straight, Madoka finally comes to a stop in front of Sayaka's apartment complex where she finds the raspberry just now walking out.

"Sayakaaa!" Madoka yells, waving and approaching.

"Hey! What happened earlier?" Sayaka immediately skips to the point.

Having run out of breath, Madoka starts talking with gasps in between each word, "You...won't...believe...what...happened...to me!" She nearly keels over from exhaustion, only saved by pushing up on her knees.

Sayaka is taken aback, "Whoa. Here, come inside..." She picks up and helps Madoka inside, right to her room. There, Madoka instantly collapse onto into the bed.

"So..." Sayaka raises an eyebrow "...did you get the soda?"

Madoka hits the bed. "No, I didn't get your soda!" she yells, voice muffled by the sheets. She rolls around and continues, "I was...I was just running for my life, back there!"

"Eh!?" Sayaka yells. "Someone attacked you, too!?"

"What? Someone attacked you, too?" Madoka asks back. Both are now confused.

"You first." Sayaka says. She sits on the bed as well.

"Well, it wasn't a person." Madoka starts to explain as she sits up. "It was...something else. I don't...really know."

"What'd it look like?" Sayaka curiously leans in closer.

"...Me." Madoka ominously closes her sentence.

Sayaka stares at her in disbelief. "No... That...can't be..." she pulls away and covers her mouth while pondering.

"Sayaka?" Madoka prods her.

"That..." Sayaka begins "Was it like, black and white?"

Madoka nods.

"Oh my god." Sayaka concludes.

Madoka quickly fits the pieces together, for a change, "Wait, did it attack you, too!?"

"Yeah." Sayaka nods.

They both look down. Both ponder, but Madoka is the only one to openly react, "This can't be happening..."

"Huh?" Sayaka grunts.

"First those weird memories and visions, then Homura, and now this...thing... I'm..." Madoka starts to visibly panic, face growing red with worry. She turns to Sayaka and seriously asks, "Am I an anime character!?"

Sayaka immediately bursts into laughter, " _An anime character!?_ That's the first thing that comes to your mind!? That's great!" She roughly pats Madoka's back.

"Sayakaaa!" Madoka whines.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it's just too funny!" Sayaka tries particularly hard to stifle her laughter, but mostly fails.

Madoka pouts, "Come on, take this seriously! I almost died!"

Sayaka manages to calm down, "I know, me too! Hey, you don't see me freaking out over it, do you? I've almost died a lot of times!"

Madoka whines even more, in a higher pitch, "Sayakaaa!" She's on the verge of frustrated tears.

Sayaka scoots back up to her and hugs the poor girl, "Ah, come on. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Madoka elbows her, eliciting no more than an "Ow." After calming down, she finally asks, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh." Sayaka jumps, as if she just remembered that she forgot to remember. "Right." she confirms. "Well, that was, it, actually. That thing, but you sort of had your own encounter with it. Weird, huh?"

Madoka lifts her head up from its previous droop and just stares at Sayaka in total deadpan. "Really?" she asks quietly.

Sayaka can almost literally see the countless epochs of possible frustration, rage, and disappointment in her eyes and responds accordingly: backing the fuck up. "Ah, there was another thing, I remember!" she clumsily adds.

Madoka's rage subsides for now. "Really?" she repeats.

"Yeah." Sayaka says, taking her seat again. "Not only did I get attacked by that thing, but when I was at the music store, I heard this voice in my head."

"You need to see a doctor about that." Madoka recommends.

"No." Sayaka refuses. "No, it's not like that! It was something else entirely! When I went to where it wanted me to go, I found this weird cat thing that was sending me telepathic messages!"

Madoka gives her a concerned look. _"And I'm the crazy one..."_ she thinks to herself. Being Madoka, she also accidentally thinks aloud.

"..." Sayaka stares at her disappointedly. "...Anyways, I went to go and rescue it, but then a bunch of...uh... How do I describe this? Sentient cotton balls with moustaches, walking on fish fins."

Madoka stares at her.

"Don't give me that look!" Sayaka yells "I know it sounds crazy, but most true things do!"

Madoka nods along, "Mhmm."

"So..." Sayaka continues "...these weird fish things start attacking us with scissors and thorns and stuff, but then they all got blown away by something!"

Madoka's memory suddenly snaps to the girl who saved her earlier. The one with golden hair, who looked...awfully familiar. Almost enough to stick a name to.

"So I look to see what it was...and it was that thing." She does an ominous pause.

"Oh." Madoka says, her guess being wrong.

"So then I try to go over and talk to it, but it does its whole thing and acts creepy, and then the thing attacks me! It just about hit me, too, but that white cat thing jumped in front and got smacked so hard that... Well, it stopped existing, I guess? All I found was its tail, afterwards."

"White...cat?" Madoka asks.

"Yeah. Its name was Kyuni or something like that."

"Ky-Kyuubey!?" Madoka asks, shocked not just at the name but the fact that she actually remembered it.

"Yeah, that's it!" Sayaka confirms. "Wait, how do you...?"

"Homura told me to watch out for it!" Madoka gladly explains.

"Oh?" Sayaka inches closer, curious.

"Yeah!" Madoka nods.

"I'll have to _ask_ her about it, tomorrow." Sayaka says skeptically. She makes a mental note, then continues, "Anyways, so I just saw Kyuubey get smacked into pieces, and this thing was about to kill me! But then, _another_ person shows up!"

The golden-haired girl comes to Madoka's mind again.

"She was like, really tall and had golden hair and guns all over the place! She just came out of nowhere and started blasting it with all sorts of things! It was like a fireworks show!" Sayaka excitedly describes the situation.

Madoka quietly nods along despite wanting to say something. Sayaka continues, "But it wasn't enough! It was still standing even though she had like, 500 guns all over the place! Then she goes and tells me to just run, so I did. I looked back to see if she was winning, but the thing was just running away from her. They were both gone after that, and I just ran home."

"And then you called me?" Madoka guesses.

"Yeah. So what did you talk with the transfer student about?"

Madoka backs the conversation up, "Wait, you said a girl with golden hair?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. And guns."

"I saw her, too."

" _No way._ " Sayaka says, voice deepened in exaggeration.

"Yeah, in the same way, too!" Madoka exclaims.

"Did she tell you her name?" Sayaka asks.

"No, just told me to run."

"Aaaah!" Sayaka yells, throwing her head back in frustration. "I wanna meet her again! She was so cool!"

Madoka can't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She starts to get up in preparation to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sayaka jumps up just as quickly as she notices.

"I...need to get home, remember?" she reminds her, hoping she'll get let off the hook.

"Wait, I wanna know what that girl said!" Sayaka continues to pester.

Madoka sighs, "I'll...tell you some other time, okay?"

Sayaka groans, "Fiiiine. At least let my mom take you home. It's dangerous now, you know?"

Surprised by the sudden shift to a more practical demeanor, Madoka loosens up a bit and smiles. "Okay." she simply says. The two head downstairs.

That evening, Madoka returned home as safely as she could have, had a nice dinner, and went to bed without any more trouble. Of course, nothing to say of Tomoe Mami's night...


	10. Question

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 10: Question**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -09-**

 **›**

 **›I STAND AMONGST AN EMPTY LAND, A WORLD DEVOID OF FEELING OR HOPE.**

 **›YOU STAND ALONGSIDE, HIDING IN THE DARK.**

 **›YOU CREATED US.**

 **›IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?**

 **›YOU RULE OVER A GRAVEYARD.**

 **›IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?**

 **›SPEAK, NO LONGER.**

 **›SEE, NO LONGER.**

 **›BE, NO LONGER.**

 **›TO CEASE.**

 **›IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?**

 **›OR WHAT YOU DESERVE?**

* * *

"Kyuubey." Mami calls for the alien tiredly as she stumbles into her apartment after fleeing from the strange entity from earlier.

He doesn't answer. She calls out again, but more angrily, "Kyuubey!"

Still, no answer. She transforms back to her usual attire and slowly walks over to the table, collapsing to her knees and laying her head down on the table. "Kyuubey." she calls again, tiredly.

Finally, he appears before her, leaping up on the table, "You called, Tomoe Mami?"

She sits up immediately, "Kyuubey, I need to know."

"Know what?"

"Who were those girls?" she directly asks.

Seeing no reason to remain quiet or lie, he speaks, "Their names are Miki Sayaka and Kaname Madoka. Both are your juniors, a year below you."

"And they have...potential?" Mami asks, hesitant.

"Yes." Kyuubey confirms. "One has potential, and one has such immense innate talent that she could become the strongest magical girl in history."

Mami's eyes widen, "The _strongest?_ Are you sure about that?"

"Her wish, whatever it is, could cause her to become a god if she so wished." Kyuubey explains.

"I see..." Mami says, furrowing her brow. "If that's true, nobody would have to worry about witches if she—"

Kyuubey interrupts, "I am afraid I cannot do such a thing."

"Eh?"

"For reasons I am at no privilege to explain, I have been instructed to ignore this potential until further notice."

Mami looks down, appearing quite frustrated with him. "I see..." she whispers. "And the other?"

"She also has great potential, but she will soon be wary of us."

"Us?"

"Myself, and my species."

"But...why?" Mami looks worried.

"I am also not at privilege to explain that in detail. However, I have one question for you."

Mami leans forward, "And what is that?"

"Tomoe Mami, may we count on you as an ally in the future no matter the circumstances?"

She smiles, "Well, of course! I owe you my life, after all."

Kyuubey shakes his head, "You have already paid that debt with your own fate. Everything else is your choice."

Mami closes her eyes and focuses on something, inhaling and exhaling slowly in the process. "I will." she resolves.

"My thanks, Tomoe Mami" Kyuubey says, however much it may just be politeness and platitude. Mami, however, is content with the decision and thinks nothing of him. She decides to get up and make some tea to calm down after the earlier ordeal.

She sits and begins pouring, some time later as Kyuubey rests in her lap. Almost offhandedly, she asks again, "Say, what's the name of that girl with the amazing 'potential', again?"

"The second one you rescued, with the pink hair? Her name is Kaname Madoka."

Mami hums, "Hmm... Kaname Madoka."

She sips her tea and repeats the name, "Kaname Madoka... Kaname Madoka."

Suddenly, her body stiffens. "Kaname...Madoka?" she repeats again, expression going blank in deep thought.

"I thought..." she says, cup tipping slightly "...that I knew a magical girl named Madoka."

"Tomoe Mami, what are you thinking?" Kyuubey raises his head up and asks.

"Kaname Madoka..." she says, cup slipping in her fingers.

Her eyes start to widen, "Kaname... Kaname... That's not...!"

Kyuubey watches in curiosity as she spaces out, not noticing the cup of tea spilling on him and scalding his fur. He leaps out of her lap quickly and lets the rest scald her lap, which snaps her out of it.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me, just now!" Mami automatically apologizes. She sets the cup down and gets up, "Oh... Oh dear, I need to wash these, now..."

She sighs and goes to put her skirt and tights in the washer, substituting them with much more comfortable pajamas. "Nobody else is around, so it's fine, I suppose." she excuses herself. "I guess that's a perk of living...alone." She turns her head back to the empty apartment and sighs.

"If you would prefer it, I could arrange another encounter with Miki Sayaka or Kaname Madoka." Kyuubey returns to her side and speaks.

Mami shakes her head as she returns to her seat, "No, I can do this on my own. I just need to contact them at school." She smiles and hums, as if in deep thought.

"What are you pondering, Tomoe Mami?" Kyuubey asks as he curls into a ball beside her.

She shakes her head again, "Nothing important. But the names of those girls..." She looks up at the ceiling, "Why are they so familiar? And..." she looks down at Kyuubey "What was that _thing_?"

Kyuubey briefly explains, "We are not completely certain. We do understand that it may not necessarily be a witch."

Mami grumbles, "That's it?"

"Unfortunately." Kyuubey confirms.

And they sit in silence. Eventually, Mami begins to write out some sort of short letter, with the intention of leaving it in one of their shoeboxes. Perhaps a dramatic rooftop meeting is in order?

And that night, she dreams in a cold sweat of a mysterious figure looming above them all, cloaked in black and red, eyes as daggers and standing atop a mountain of corpses. Filling the air, a cacophony of the million-strong screams of the dead who curse the world; a raging storm of fire dancing in the air and laughing at their cries. And soon, all falls into darkness.

She couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.


	11. Glimpse

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 11: Glimpse**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0a-  
**

 **›**

 **›DREAMS LEND US OUR GREATEST FANTASIES, BUT ALSO OUR GREATEST REVELATIONS.**

 **›THEY BLEND TOGETHER, UNABLE TO BE TOLD APART, INDESCRIBABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER.**

 **›WHEN YOU LINGER WITHIN, BE TAKEN AWAY.**

 **›WHEN YOU STAY AWAKE, GO MAD.**

 **›THE RESULT IS ALWAYS THE SAME.**

 **›BRING UPON YOURSELF, BALANCE, AND LOSE MEANING, TO AVOID FATE.**

 **›...**

 **›I DREAMT OF A MILLION CORPSES.**

 **›I DREAMT OF A WORLD WITHOUT GODS.**

 **›I DREAMT OF A HUNDRED WORLDS.**

 **›I DREAMT OF A DARK FIGURE, UNNAMED AND CLOAKED IN NOTHING.**

 **›AND THEY ASKED A QUESTION TO NOBODY, WHICH I COULD NOT HEAR.**

 **›AND I DESPAIRED.**

* * *

"Class, we have a new transfer student, today!" Ms. Saotome says once again, only this time, her voice echoes a dozen times over. Each iteration slightly different, each sound enunciated less clearly until it all culminates into a booming declaration.

And so too do her movements follow, each leaving behind an image of itself so-as to overlap into a single image.

Madoka looks onward from her seat in a dreamlike daze, halfway between fantasy and reality. Everything soon would become a blur, but not before Homura would walk in again, as she always does. Though, it appears as only one image; each movement so rehearsed that they blend together perfectly. And yet, there lies a few simple differences only she could spot. And finally, the grains of black and white take over.

Darkness. And yet, within, a warm embrace. Those cold hands held her tightly, once upon a time. Then, that stone heart became molten. She could feel every beat, and each brought a different pain. Some would say it was like torture; others, like passion.

But it was different, now. Did she say those things? Perhaps. But that was long ago, right? To her, it was only a few minutes. To _her_ , it was far more. It meant far more.

Those cold hands, when first felt, are like dry ice. Feeling the tingling sensation of peppermint, but through the hands. It can only be described as "Deafening". Some say the cold is silence that can be felt on the skin. Maybe those people are crazy. Maybe they're the same ones who call us mad for our desires.

"But I know many forms of madness. And none more-so than this. Because of her, I know. But how?"

Like all questions, this one is meaningless. Not without purpose, but without definition. A different meaningless that she could not possibly understand.

Empty. "That stare of _hers_ is so empty." Perhaps something died, within. Some light faded, paving the way for nothing to take its place.

"That stare of yours is empty. How could you understand?" She cursed her fate, and its arbiter.

"Your stare is empty, how do you even live with yourself?" _She_ had rejected everything that came from those accursed eyes, even if hers were the same.

" _'That stare of yours is beautiful. How could you do this to yourself?'_ Is what she told me, a long time ago."

Words could not possibly cross that bottomless gap between them. And so she never knew those words. Only now does it seem like it was all just their imagination. Perhaps a sick game played by a higher being. But that is being generous.

And as quickly as it came, another dream leaves to be perpetually forgotten amidst the other conglomerated memories from times which no longer exist.

"What if they never did?"

And those thoughts were not dreams, but of them; and so they linger.

She looked down, and saw her own body being cradled, limp. It awoke a nameless and persistent grief within her. She could only watch as the rain disguised _her_ tears. Neither could speak. There were no words for her. And yet, _she_ spoke, "I'm sorry."

Those words brought the same grief. She could not comprehend why, but she began to cry. And then there were none. A meaningless speck fighting an impossible fate over an even more meaningless speck, at the end of the world. It could not be more fitting, and yet so wrong. Before her eyes, everything vanished and became new again.

Yes, indeed. They had all died before, but so much more. While once was harrowing, each which followed was tragic for reasons beyond its own inherent value. A dreadful subtext; an indescribable loathing, inescapable and all-consuming: failure, insignificance, inadequacy, contempt, apology, and many feelings with no words to match. But curiously, no regret.

A broken will. A broken heart. A broken mind. All finely crafted of stained glass, yet creully shattered.

A flower left to grow alone among its destroyed forest. When Man saw it, the plucked it emotionlessly. She recalls its brilliant golden hue.

An innocent girl, fallen in love. She was turned into foam by a jealous witch, who was once like her.

Someone who was once human. Now, cursed in the form of a lizard, wandering eternally in search of a princess' kiss.

Wherein lies lost souls, begets a savior, but none come. They are trapped, themselves, in these godless, twisted metals. Dark soon consumes and embraces, warm and welcoming.

Madoka wakes up. Her room, too, is dark. Her pillow is stained slightly. She rubs her cheek against it fondly and whispers a name, "Homura..."

In another place, another girl dreams. The deep sea consumes her, and visions of spirals overcome the beauty of the sun's beaming godrays. The abyss beckons and soon surrounds. A crushing darkness. An oppression like no other, daunting in scale but so insignificant by reason that it begs the question of its own nature.

An ideal symphony of cries plays in her mind, perfect in composition yet devoid of hope. Full of soul, yet devoid of mind. It bleeds through the depths only, muffled by something unidentifiable. Soon, the pressure would become unbearable, but there was no way to surface. The muscles seize, the mind draws into a trance, and everything grows cold.

Sayaka wakes up in a cold sweat at the sound of a scream. She searches with only her eyes, briefly, and sees nothing. All is quiet. Neither could sleep well, that night.


	12. Meeting

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 12: Meeting**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0b-**

 **›**

 **›LIVING.**

 **›LIVING.**

 **›LIVING.**

 **›LIVING.**

 **›BREATHING.**

 **›BREATHING.**

 **›BREATHING.**

 **›BREATHING.**

 **›THESE WERE ONCE THINGS I CHERISHED.**

 **›NOW NULL, I LIVE AS SUCH.**

 **›AN ANTITHETICAL EXISTENCE, YET A MIND AMONGST THE VERY ESSENCE OF "REAL".**

 **›AND THE "REAL" WILL ALWAYS MEET ITSELF IN ITS OWN DARKEST DEPTHS.**

 **›IT WILL COMPREHEND ITS OWN NATURE AND DESPAIR.**

 **›BUT IT WILL CARRY ON, AWARE AND EMBRACING.**

 **›IT WILL MOVE FORWARD, MEANINGLESSLY.**

 **›WHEN I STRETCH MY ARMS, I FEEL TWO OTHER HANDS REACH FOR ME.**

 **›AND THEY ARE MY OWN.**

* * *

Another day where Sayaka walks mostly alone to school. The only one to accompany her is Hitomi, who brings a bit less than a satisfying conversation these days. Always seems as if her mind is wandering to someplace else. She never could figure out what that girl was thinking at any given time. Of course, they would carry on without saying much to each other, that morning.

As Sayaka opens up her shoebox in the main entrance, a pink, polka-dotted envelope falls out. "Eh?" she says, picking it up to find that it had been properly, formerly sealed.

Hitomi notices and approaches her in a facetious tone, "Oh, is Sayaka getting love letters, now? I bet it's from that boy next to you who's always sleeping!"

Sayaka elbows her, "Ah, shut up!" She hastily rips open the envelope and reads what's inside.

"Miki Sayaka,"

"Please come to the rooftop after classes end. There is something important I must discuss with you."

Below the neat handwriting is a written signature that she can't quite make out due to how fancy it is. Sayaka raises an eyebrow at it.

"It _is_ a love letter!" Hitomi continues to tease her.

"This was clearly written by a girl!" Sayaka argues, pointing at the signature.

"My father has a very nice signature, too." Hitomi argues back, smiling.

"...Whatever." Sayaka sighs and dismisses her, looking awfully tired.

"Who do you think it is?" Hitomi continues to bother her.

"I don't know." Sayaka dismisses, thinking about someone having a crush on her and promptly cringing.

"Maybe it's an upperclassman! You always looked that mature, Miki!"

"You already guessed, though!" Sayaka points out.

"I can make more guesses." Hitomi simply states.

"Then you can just guess everyone and be right no matter what! It doesn't even matter!" Sayaka rants.

"Isn't that a strawman?" Hitomi points out.

Sayaka stares daggers at her for a second, before realizing that it won't help. She just ignores Hitomi's teasing and puts her inside shoes on, then the letter in her pocket, and heads off to class where she quickly notices that Madoka is absent again.

After class, she hears someone speak from beside her, "Miki Sayaka."

She looks right, and finds Homura standing beside her desk with arms crossed. "Oh, it's the transfer student." she says with some disdain in her tone.

Homura skips right to the point by tapping where Madoka's desk would be with her foot, "Where is she?"

"Don't know. Probably 'sick' again." she says, utilizing air quotes.

"'Sick'?" Homura copies her. "This has happened before?"

Sayaka nods as she grabs her bag and gets up, "Yeah. A couple days ago, she just wouldn't get out of bed. Her dad told me she was 'sick', but she looked fine when I last saw her."

Homura closes her eyes in an attempt to sate her frustration, "That is all I needed to know. Thank you, Miki Sayaka." Despite wanting to sarcastically remark that she had been useful "for once", she stays quiet to avoid screwing up anything.

"Hey!" Sayaka stops her as she's about to walk away.

Homura stops but doesn't turn around. "Yes?" she asks.

"What did you two talk about, yesterday?" Sayaka asks bluntly.

Homura stays quiet for a few seconds. Eventually, she tilts her head back and gives a foreboding answer, "You will know, soon enough." Before Sayaka can ask anything else, she simply walks away while flipping her hair.

Meanwhile, Sayaka just shows a puzzled and slightly annoyed expression. "What?" she asks rhetorically, in disbelief. While fruitlessly pondering the meaning of that answer, she exits and climbs the stairs to the rooftop.

There, she finds Tomoe Mami standing a good distance away, looking at her directly — expectantly. She stands ever-so-tightly within the confines of the narrow shadows casted by the rooftop fence and the afternoon sun, hiding her whole appearance.

Sayaka approaches curiously, taking the letter out of her pocket and waving it about while she asks, "Hey, are you the one who wrote this?"

Mami takes a few steps forward, exiting the shadows and letting Sayaka catch her full figure. She stops as they become just several paces apart. "Yes, I did." she says calmly, with a tiny smile.

Sayaka nods, "Huh. Hitomi was right about one thing..." She then gazes at Mami's offensively huge bosom for just a brief moment. "Anyways," she dismisses it "what is it?"

Mami closes her eyes and looks down, seeming to think briefly before glancing to the left and quickly back to the ground. Then, back at Sayaka to whom she bends over and whispers, "Don't look now, but we're being watched. Reject my offer and we'll talk later."

Sayaka can't help but glance in the direction she was as she backs away with a false smile. She catches just the slightest silhouette of a long-haired figure looming and stalking from atop a tower adjacent to them.

Mami continues with what she was going to say, "I thought you might want an explanation for everything that happened, yesterday."

Sayaka looks slightly puzzled. She has to think for a bit before realizing what she means, then remembering the short encounter they had. "Oh!" she says "I remember. The weird things?"

"The weird things..." Mami confirms. She loses her smile, fading to a more serious yet flat expression, "Miki, what if I told you that magic and miracles are real?"

The shadows of the gate seem to shift angles as Sayaka stares blankly at Mami for long enough that it doesn't seem perfectly normal. Eventually she responds, "That's right." as if it were totally natural.

Mami seems surprised, "We— Wait, what?"

"I believe it. I don't know why, but I feel like it has to be true. Even before that happened, if you asked me then I would've said 'Yes'." Sayaka explains, voice going from the usual playful tone to a monotonous one.

"Most people don't have that sort of response." Mami says, mostly to herself but loud enough that the subject could be ambiguous. She shakes her head lightly, "No, I'm just being _that way_ again."

Sayaka raises an eyebrow, but to no attention.

"Miki..." Mami clears her throat "...in this world, magic and miracles exist. People like myself take them, and use them to fight evil; to protect the innocent."

She takes out her soul gem and presents it as it shines, "This gem is the proof of our destiny. The evil we fight is like what you saw yesterday. Those strange creatures, and that...thing." Mami shudders just thinking about it.

"And...what _are_ you?" Sayaka begs for the point.

Mami smiles, having been waiting to say this part, "Why, I'm a magical girl!" And with that, she does her little twirly dance and transforms to show off a little.

Sayaka continues to nod along, "Huh..." She seems a bit distracted.

"Now, part of my job is to train the new chosen girls..." Mami starts eagerly explaining "...and as it just so happens, you have been chosen by Kyuubey as somebody with the potential to become one of us!"

Sayaka continues to nod, but isn't really listening.

"Now, it isn't an easy job. Every day is dangerous, and you'll risk your own life for what you believe in." Mami begins to warn.

Sayaka stops her, "Hey...haven't I seen you somewhere before? Even before yesterday?"

Mami looks up, thinking on it for a little while. "...No, we haven't."

"That's weird." Sayaka says "You look just like that girl who **went missing**."

Somehow, Mami becomes frozen to the ground. "That..." she hesitates to say "...never happened. What are you talking about? Who was it?"

"I...don't know." Sayaka admits. She goes blank for a second. Then, as if the conversation had skipped several explanations, she dismisses everything and turns to leave, "I guess I have to decline. Bye, Mami."

Mami suddenly looks perplexed and slightly dejected. She calls out, "Wait, but I—!" then stops. She realizes, then, and asks, "I never told you my name. How did you know it?"

Sayaka stops in her tracks and grabs her head. Something seems to rush into it, stopping in seconds and lingering there like a punch to the face. Without another word, she leaves.

Mami is left out in the open with her hand outstretched, trying to understand what just happened and failing on every level. That is, until she too gets hit with an indescribable headache that forces her onto a nearby bench where she holds her forehead and bends over in pain. It lasts for several minutes, where at the end she asks herself, "What...what does that mean!?"

In a fit of frustration, she loses her composure and nearly throws her bag across the rooftop before realizing she still isn't alone. She turns, transforms back to her school attire, and hastily walks away as well.

"Interesting." Homura comments as she steps away from the ledge of the tower she was watching them from. "It seems not only _she_ is affected. I wonder..."

With a finger on her chin and a gun barrel pointed squarely at Kyuubey, she ponders her theories. Soon, the incubator interrupts, "Akemi Homura,—" and is promptly executed for interrupting.

" _Very interesting._ "


	13. Gertrud

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 13: Gertrud**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0c-**

 **›**

 **›** **LET IT FLOW.**

 **›** **THE GRAND CALCULATION.**

 **›** **THE RULING OVER ALL EMOTION.**

 **›** **THE LAW OF HEART.**

 **›** **LET IT FLOW AND OVERCOME.**

 **›** **BRING YOURSELF TO BALANCE.**

 **›** **ONE AND THE OTHER, BACK TO ZERO.**

 **›** **REMAIN, IN THAT TRANQUIL PLACE.**

 **›** **PERSIST.**

 **›** **THAT IS THE ONLY WAY.**

 **›** **REMOVE PURPOSE.**

 **›** **REMOVE THE HEART, EMBRACE THE MIND.**

 **›** **THAT FEELING WHICH SEEPS THROUGH, STAMP IT OUT.**

 **›** **EXTINGUISH THAT FIRE.**

 **›** **SUFFOCATE IT, LEST YOU BURN.**

* * *

Sayaka approaches a strange portal opening before her and Mami at the top of a stairwell in some abandoned building in the far reaches of Mitakihara.

"What _is_ that?" she asks.

Mami steps forward and transforms in one motion, confidently speaking, "A witch's labyrinth."

"Wait," Sayaka stops her with a nervous sweat beginning on her face "we're...going in there!?"

Mami nods. "Take this, for your protection." she adds, smiling as she hands over one of her ivory rifles. "It can only fire once, but you can use it as a bat, too. I'll hand you more if you need them."

Sayaka nods, "But...that isn't really the problem, you know."

Mami looks back in surprise, "Oh? You don't want to come along, after all?"

"Well... Never mind." Sayaka tries to come up with a reason for herself, but fails and moves forward.

Together, they enter the portal, but close behind lies Homura who observes their entry with a concerned frown. She sighs and heads in, after them.

As soon as they enter the barrier, anxiety sets in. For Sayaka, hers is visible. Despite the fact that she's holding a massive rifle, the mere colors of bleeding pastel and fragile fibrous texture of the world itself are enough to make her thoughts warp in both disgust and nervousness. For Mami, she was always just a bottled-up mass of terror threatening to break through and destroy everything the moment she lets her guard down. Here, she looks cool for her possible student, but she could only guess what would happen next.

Her uncertainty shows through in her lack of foresight at what happens just moments later: All around them, the colorful landscape distorts itself into the shapes of strange abominations covered in wings and roses. The Anthonies that they had encountered in the shopping center and the new Adelberts all appear from over the artificial hills and flood into the landscape, chanting on their way down.

" **Wer bist du?** " they chant in unison for the moment that they see the two.

" **Bis bald!** " the Adelberts chant as they fly overhead in a massive swarm.

" **Entweihte!** " they all say in unison. " **Entweihte! Schlechte Blumen! Entweihte! Schlechte Blumen!** "

Intercut between the continued chanting, the Anthonies yell, " **Hau ihnen die Köpfe ab!** " and " **Schneide sie ab!** " while their invisible eyes open and consume their entire heads.

Mami and Sayaka find themselves surrounded by angry familiars in seconds, and can barely even speak over all of the angry german. As the Adelberts circle above them like vultures, Mami gets an idea and yells to her partner, "Miki, grab on!" With a flick of her wrist, she shoots a ribbon up into the air which latches onto something far away and takes hold, reaching back down to Sayaka.

"Uh..." Sayaka hesitates, one hand still holding the rifle. She doesn't have much of a choice but to grab on, as the Anthonies' scissors and rose vines have inched dangerously close to her. She grips the ribbon tightly and allows it to wrap around her entire arm, then she reaches out for Mami, "Mami, come on!"

Mami looks up at Sayaka confidently and shakes her head with a smile. In seconds, she is almost completely surrounded and overcome by the bodies of Anthonies that swarm and tackle her.

Sayaka's eyes widen as she shoots into the air, being raised far above the battle and even above the Aldeberts. The entire way up, she's screaming Mami's name. In a futile attempt to help, she fires off the one shot the rifle holds. If course it doesn't do much.

But it doesn't need to. Something below, past the Aldeberts, lights up the mob of Anthonies. Then, they explode. In a massive tornado of ribbons, every single one of them is blown away and suspended in midair while Mami stands nearly a foot off of the ground, arms outstretched and to the side, legs together like a ballerina, posture perfectly in line, and head tilted back and to the side. In that single moment, her very presence radiates such an intimidating confidence that everything around her seems to freeze and wait in reverence of her divinity for the moment that everything around her is annihilated with extreme prejudice.

 _And it is._ The dome of ribbons pulls itself back in as her feet gradually meet the ground and her arms cross into an X, forming an outwards cluster of at least 50 rifles that all prime for her command. Then, she spreads her arms out again and leans her entire body back in a single motion.

It only happened in a few seconds, so before Sayaka even knows what's happening, an impassable wall of bullets fly out in every direction and completely destroy everything in Mami's path. Every Anthony: a puddle of mush on the ground. Every Adelbert: blown to pieces and falling from the air in a mess of clipped wings and surreal gore. They had not just been blown to pieces, but shred as well. It was as if someone just dropped an atom bomb.

Sayaka can only stare in astonishment, bereft of any rationalization for what she just witnessed. The only thing she says as Mami brings her back down is, "What _are_ you?"

Mami smiles, her worries momentarily washed away. "A magical girl!" she says as if she hadn't just killed at least 200 eldritch abominations in the blink of an eye.

Of course, that is _also_ washed away as soon as the two notice two massive faucets rise from the walls of the labyrinth and begin pouring out _more_ of the tiny freaks. They come out, bodies wiggling in a strange dance and scissors snapping at the air intimidatingly, closing in on Mami with intense focus.

She spawns another rifle and hands it to Sayaka to replace the old one. Then, she does the same plan again, raising Sayaka up and preparing for another slaughter. What she doesn't expect is that the sheer force with which the tidal wave of familiars crashes right into her causes the ground itself to crack like glass! Immediately seeing the danger of the situation, Mami beats and shoots away whatever she can while roping her own self out of the mob just in time to see the entire floor break and collapse!

As she attempts to rise up, the Aldeberts swarm her and start charging one by one, relentlessly. She ties both of her ankles with the ribbons and hangs herself upside-down, freeing both hands to hold two rifles and start beating them away as they come! Each shot seems to attract more, but they make no progress towards victory even while the faucets continue to pour more familiars that fall into the void in an attempt to reach Mami.

However, what she didn't notice is that her ribbon seemed to not be able to hand all of the stress. Both of them snap without warning, catching Mami off-guard enough that she gets headbutted right in the face, then the side, and then the feet in quick succession! She nearly flips out of control, but manages to regain altitude by pulling out more ribbons. Sayaka, meanwhile, begins screaming at the top of her lungs as her supporting ribbons also break, and she plummets.

Mami notices her and grunts in frustration. "Dammit!" she swears for the first time in months. She makes a mental note to tip the swear jar if they make it back in one piece. She beats away two Aldeberts and abandons her rifles as she forcibly cuts away the ribbons holding her up, just in time to fall at the same rate and height as Sayaka. She grabs a hold of the girl in freefall, materializing a gun in her free hand and firing, discarding, in rhythm, above them. The Aldeberts follow them down the massive hole in a conical swarm that simply refuses to die or even thin out, and the individual shots only do so much.

Eventually, the bottom becomes visible: A massive garden of roses of all colors and sizes. Within them is a forest of thorny vines, and interwoven between the two are the Anthonies that fell into the void, all waiting down below, scissors chopping up and just begging to get their pointy bits on both of them.

" **Schneide sie ab!** " they chant as the two fall ever-closer to demise. " **Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide—!** "

Just as their maddening chant grows too annoying, Mami manages to whip herself around before the mob and transform her single rifle into a single, _handheld Grand Bombard_. Behind her, a slew of backup rifles fall with her in the air as she commands, " _Tiro Finale ~ Meteorite!_ "

And like before, the only thing Sayaka can see before her is a massive fireball of explosive gunshots light up the ground beneath her like an orbital strike. The deafening bang of the cannon in Mami's hand definitely helped the effect, though.

The ground is clear as they land, a smoldering crater of what it used to be instead of anything resembling a dangerous rosebed. They both tumble to their backs and lie down for a moment in sheer mental exhaustion. Though for Mami, it was more physical. Then, just as they're about to mention something to each other, a great shadow fills their vision...


	14. Gertrud II

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 14: Gertrud II**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0d-**

 **›**

 **›** **NO ENTRY FOUND**

* * *

As they lie on the ground, Mami and Sayaka are about to lament how lucky they are to have made it out of that slaughter alive. However, some daunting shadow fills their vision before they can celebrate.

"Eh?" Mami says as the massive object of offense, hurtling towards them, comes into view. "Is that...a sofa?"

Surely enough, it is. A giant sofa. Hurdling straight towards them. " _Oh my god_." Sayaka says in disbelief.

Mami quickly acts, yelling out again as she materializes another cannon from her ribbons, "Tiro Finale ~ Sol Levante!" And it fires.

Well, it _should_ have fired. But instead, it just sprouts a bouquet of flowers. "Eh!?" Mami begins to freak out, tears forming at the edge of her eyes as the sofa falls towards them.

In seconds, both of them start screaming and grabbing for each other, awaiting with dignity, the moment that they get crushed. But that doesn't happen. Instead, they hear an uncharacteristic boom as the sofa explodes anomalously, scattering into flaming pieces that shotgun the ground around the two.

They rise to their feet quickly to see what happened, just in time to see Homura descend and land with perfect grace, flaming chunks falling around her.

"Y-You!" Mami yells at her while pointing.

"It's rude to point." Homura points out. "Look behind you." she adds, pulling an RPG-7 out of her buckler while the two look behind them and find Gertrud's expressionless face within feet of their own.

Mami nearly soils herself with how suddenly and closely it comes to them, so much in terror that she drops the rifle she had just formed. Luckily for her, Homura launches the grenade and strikes Gertrud's wing just before it can launch an attack! Gertrud recoils, having one of its limbs blown off by something it hadn't even noticed until it happened. It steps back and lets out a bloodcurdling bellow that nothing even remotely human could possibly make. Soon, the Anthonies and Aldeberts are all surrounding them and...just staring. At Homura.

" **Feuer! Feuer!** " they yell. " **Das Verfluchte! Verfluchtes Feuer! Verfluchtes Blume!** "

They start to clamor amongst each other, but only until Gertrud opens its 100 invisible eyes, pastily and vacantly gazing at Homura, face opening up and revealing the wings within it while the familiars' eyes all widen. They all begin to scream in rage, " **Löschen! Löschen! Löschen! Löschen!** " Chanting over and over as they panic, all of them collectively charging towards Homura and _only_ Homura. Mami and Sayaka retreat to the sidelines to watch, only for the show to be almost immediately over as everything they can see in their immediate view is either shot or blown to pieces in an instant, including Gertrud who seems to be missing its entire head. In the midst of the destruction, Homura merely strolls out of the flames and flips her hair once while the barrier deteriorates around them.

Then, they stand there in silence. For at least several seconds, Homura and Mami just glare at each other while Sayaka isn't sure of what to think. Homura because of _very_ complicated reasons, and Mami because of intimidation and cautiousness. Reluctantly, she begins to speak, only to have a grief seed thrown at her. She catches it and looks confused, "What? But..."

"Take it." Homura commands, softening what would otherwise be a very threatening tone of order.

"I'm fine." Mami refuses, sending it back to Homura who catches it and furrows her brow.

Then, that minor furrowing turns into a scowl of frustration. To the other two's startlement, she quickly marches over to Mami and grabs her by the collar, yelling in her face, "What's your problem!?"

Mami can't figure out what to say. Or rather, what she wants to say won't come out. All she does is grab onto Homura's wrist and try to pry her away unsuccessfully.

"Do you have a death wish!? Are you stupid!? Why do... Do you even...!?" She starts to hesitate with her words, knowing well what would happen if she accidentally let loose. Eventually, her gaze shifts to the floor, and she falls lax. Noting this, Mami loosens her own grip a bit. Homura eventually lets go, then forces the seed back into her hand. "Look at yourself." Homura says breathlessly, pulling a mirror out of her shield and handing it over.

Mami is beaten to hell and back. A bloody nose, black eye, and bruised cheeks from when the Aldeberts had headbutted her repeatedly. The soul gem on her hat is worryingly washed out and darkened. She jumps a little in surprise, then checks herself for more injuries. Her entire body is cut up, burnt, and bruised. Along her stomach is a huge gash; if she had to judge she'd say the familiars were trying to carve her stomach out and nearly succeeded.

"I..." she slowly starts to realize. "I didn't know..."

" _You didn't know._ " Homura repeats the idea aloud. "You didn't even realize that you were about to die. If I hadn't been here..." Suddenly, she catches herself thinking about that scenario, and has to look away to avert their gaze from her subconsciously forming tears. She wipes them away sneakily, then looks back at them. "...You _would_ be." she finishes.

Mami makes a difficult expression. Slowly, she mends herself and purifies her gem enough to not be totally out-of-shape, then throws the seed off for Kyuubey to eat. Then, they just stare at each other.

Looking back at Sayaka who looks like she just saw a ghost, Mami tells Homura, "I'll take her home. I think we both need to rest. Goodbye, Akemi."

Homura nods once, and only once. Her expression is now one that Mami can't quite explain, or grasp the nature of. Something between anger, concern, confusion, and something unnameable yet familiar. She looks scornful, yes, but there lies some shimmer behind that stone which obscures itself so persistently.

Homura watches as the two depart the abandoned building in silence. Once both are gone, she sighs and relaxes herself. She plants her head against a nearby wall and lets the tension go, allowing her mild tears to flow freely for just a few moments. _"I can't."_ she thinks to herself _"I can't let them die. Not this time. Not for good. I can't do it again. She would never forgive it."_

She cushions her forehead with one arm and rubs against it while her expressions sours, _"Why can't they just listen for once!? Why do they have to go out and do all of this!? Do they_ _ **want**_ _to die!? Just what...what's happening?"_

In the frustration of her thoughts, she lashes out and kicks an empty, metal frame and throws it out of a window. Sitting down, she holds her head in both hands and sobs quietly for a while. _"For now, this should be enough."_ she tells herself. Soon, she would need to rise and continue, no matter how much every synapse in her brain is screaming at her to give up.

Give up. Impossible. Unforgivable.


	15. Stalker

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 15: Stalker**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0e-**

 **›**

 ** **›** I LIVED THAT NIGHTMARE, I NEVER CHOSE.**

 ** **›** I CLUNG TO IT WHOLE, NOTHING BUT REMORSE.**

 ** **›** EACH SPARKLE HAD SPILT, BEAMING LIGHT.**

 ** **›** IT CAME THROUGH.**

 ** **›** I MISSED IT.**

 ** **›** AS IF NOTHING HAD EVER HAPPENED, I TURNED AND LOOKED UPON MY OWN FACE.**

 ** **›** I HAD SEEN A THOUSAND FACES OF LOVE, BUT NOTHING TO THE DEDICATION OF WOE.**

 ** **›** IS WAS LIKE A DREAM, THAT LIGHT.**

 ** **›** THAT EVER-SHINING BEAM ONCE GRASPED BUT NEVER TAKEN, FORSAKEN AND UNLOVED.**

 ** **›** BUT THAT WAS YOU.**

 ** **›** I AM YOU.**

 ** **›**...**

 ** **›** OMENS.**

 ** **›** IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

After a particularly hard-won witch hunt, the night after Gertrud was killed, Homura walks out of the barrier, grief seed in hand and asks herself, "Why are they so aggressive, now?" She looks down at the seed and stores it in her shield for future use, despite her gem beginning to darken worryingly.

She transforms back to her usual uniform, flips her hair back that had been frazzled and strung around from the fight, and begins to walk forward into the dark of night.

1:00 AM. After spending so much effort on the pragmatism of saving time in each activity, she could easily figure out what time it is just by looking up for a brief moment, and observing the world around her. Of course, night's sky of starlight is the only source of illumination for her, in these dark alleys. Ahead and around, it's pitch black. The buildings are, too. Her gem may provide a dim glow around her, but it only bathes the usually glistening environment in a dark purple that hurts to look at. She decides to forego the light and just get used to it until she reaches the more lit up urban areas.

Every inch of whatever place she's currently in is either a massive, wide open street or parking lot, or some combination of twisting intersections of alleyways whose gaps narrow so thoroughly as to invoke claustrophobia. And through one of these, she walks, beckoned by the promise of nightlights on the skyline straight ahead.

 **CRACK**

Homura freezes from the sound of broken glass. She swivels her heel around, and it grinds into the gravel below with smaller cracks. Her body goes from tense to relaxed, and she gulps. If there was anything that still unnerved her, it was walking out into places like these during witch hunts. The total absence of light is nothing new, and even one of her environments, but there's never a way to tell when familiars may be lurking. In a situation like this, they're lethal.

One slip-up, one moment that she doesn't look around each corner, is one where she could be punished. Even after slaying the witch at hand, there could always be more. They love these places, where the powerful become defenseless and the unaware become helpless.

She transforms back for a brief second to pull out a pistol, then go back. She continues onward, this time carefully peering in every direction before taking each step. Between each intersection, her pace quickens.

Under normal circumstances, silence would be comforting. Not having to hear the screams of witches is a blessing by itself. But not here, where the only thing it can foreshadow is a lingering threat beyond the veil.

 **She feels something touch the back of her neck.** Instinctively, she whips around. Nothing but total darkness, though she can see the form of something far off, retreating. Her vision starts to tunnel, eyes wide as she turns back around and walks quickly.

An eerie sound that she can't quite hear starts to bug at her ears, a moment later. She doesn't notice it, though, until she hears a faint laugh. The giggle of a small girl.

Followed by another. And another. And another. Each one is more familiar than the last.

She flees further, coming closer to any light, and soon the laughing fades. But alongside it, the screech that lies just beyond her range of hearing breaks through. So loud, yet so quiet, it becomes deafening. Having run out of breath and starting to get a headache, she leans with one hand on the side of one building.

 **Another hand runs over hers.** Every hair on her arm stands on edge, and she yanks it away, slamming her back into the opposing wall and whipping her gun up, immediately firing a shot into the darkness. It hits concrete. It takes a bit, but she gets over her shock and continues, stumbling around a few times in the process.

Despite seeing nothing, the sound still persists. Over time, it grows irritating enough to almost put her in an oppressive, aching trance. Each second within its range is like being pressed upon by all the weight of her past actions at once, even more than they already do. Every second under the tension makes her legs weaker, every step smaller and slower than the last.

"Wha...what are you doing to me?" she meekly asks the darkness. "What a—" and at that moment, she gasps as an apparition slides just past her peripheral vision in one of the intersecting paths. She slowly looks to the side, hands gripping her pistol with the force of a vice.

"Show yourself!" she yells with her voice shaking and about to crack. She desperately tries to pack in and hold back her true reaction. Gritting her teeth at the incoming silence, she points the pistol up at the darkness and yells again, "I said show yourself! This isn't funny!"

No answer. A faint wailing adds itself to the weakening screech, seeming to come from far away, and from all directions, echoing around the walls.

After standing there for a minute and trying to grasp her surroundings, she feels a presence behind her. A cold wave of air washes over her entire body and freezes her. What feel like hands with eyes affixed to them seem to creep along her back and body. She dares not look directly at them, but can feel their stares piercing through, and touches sapping her strength with each passing second.

She gulps. And without another moment's hesitation, she darts forward into the darkness, heading for the lit streets just ahead. Every time she passes another intersection, she can't help but to look to the side, noticing the silhouetted head of some figure following her movements, getting closer with each passing glance. And finally, before it can catch up with her, she's just seconds away from the perceived safety of the street lights.

Then, the figure rounds the corner ahead of her. Homura immediately skids to a halt; tripping, falling onto her back, and twisting her ankle all at the same time before lying there and groaning. She starts scooting back with only her hands as the figure approaches, "You... Who are you!?" She points the pistol at it.

"Homura?" says a familiar voice. Though, her face is shrouded by its own shadow.

Homura stops for a second to parse what's happening. Then, she realizes it and cries out, "Madoka!" She tries to get up to run to her, but her twisted ankle stops her.

Madoka slowly approaches and bends down to help her up. "Did you hurt yourself?" she asks quietly.

"My ankle..." she responds, then adds "You scared me to death!"

Madoka giggles, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Uh... We should get you home, right?"

Homura nods, "What are you doing all the way out here, anyways?"

Madoka hums to herself for a moment before answering, "Well, I needed to talk to you, but I didn't know where to find you." She gets Homura out of the dark alley and underneath a street light. "Then Kyuubey came and told me where you were."

"That **rat**?" Homura insults him.

"I guess." Madoka says uncomfortably.

Homura sighs, "It doesn't matter. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well..." Madoka tries to speak, but immediately trails off. "I think we should go someplace else, first."

"Someplace else?"

"Like..." Madoka glances elsewhere, then bashfully smiles "...your house?"

Homura sighs again, but louder, "If you insist."

Madoka smiles wider, and they start to walk down the street. Then, seconds later, Homura adds, "So pushy..."

Madoka elbows her, "Hey!"

Homura lets out a rare laugh, "I'm joking!" And the two go on, nudging each other and making small talk the entire way.

And behind them, a white figure watches from under the lamp post. Motionlessly.


	16. Hard to Say

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 16: Hard to Say**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -0f-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **WHAT IS THIS FEELING?**

 ** **›**** **AM I BEING TOUCHED?**

 ** **›**** **BY MYSELF?**

 ** **›**** **ALL ALONE.**

 ** **›**** **ARE THESE ARMS MINE, OR SOMEBODY ELSE'S?**

 ** **›**** **I CAN FEEL ALL AROUND, LIKE A RING.**

 ** **›**** **IF I REACH, I CAN TOUCH MY OTHER ARM.**

 ** **›**** **CAN THEY BE BROUGHT TOGETHER?**

 ** **›**** **IF I COULD FEEL ONE LAST THING, IT WOULD BE EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **IF I COULD HEAR ONE LAST THING.**

 ** **›**** **"AU REVOIR."**

 ** **›**** **.** **..**

 ** **›**** **WAS I A FOOL TO BELIEVE?**

 ** **›**** **THOSE TRAITORS!**

 ** **›**** **AN ANGEL SAT UPON MY SHOULDER AND PROMISED THE LIGHT OF GOD.**

 ** **›**** **I WANTED TO FEEL IT.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **EMBRACE.**

 ** **›**** **...**

* * *

" _Mom, how do I help someone who doesn't want to be helped?"_

" _Don't."_

" _What?"_

" _You don't need to help everyone. Sometimes, people need to figure things out on their own."_

" _But—!"_

" _Take care of yourself. Show them that you're there. If it's you, everything will fall into place."_

...

"Madoka!?" Homura asks, shocked as Madoka holds onto her tightly and refuses to let go. She tries half-heartedly and in vain to pry her arms off. Her voice nearly cracks, "What are you doing!?"

Madoka says little, instead rubbing her cheek into Homura's shoulder. "Shh..." she shushes. The pendulum swinging above them ticks louder than before, in their silence. She glances up at it, the shadow looming closer than is comfortable. Finally, she speaks up quietly, "You can stop."

Homura's mind instantly shoots into confusion. She glances around at the room, then down at Madoka, "...What?"

"The room," she clarifies "I know it's just an illusion."

" _How did she...? Right, the memories. But the last time she figured that out was at least ten timelines ago..."_ Homura thinks to herself.

"Homura?" Madoka looks up at her with a concerned look.

"Ah, yes." Homura snaps out of her thoughts and steps away to promptly relax the illusion. It fades to dark, revealing the dimmed lights of Homura's tiny apartment which is mostly bedroom.

Madoka takes a moment to take in the surroundings, with the strange music she heard in the background in both this and the last visit fading into pure silence to accompany everything. Something — a thought or memory long lost — tries to surface from the back of her mind, but fails just before she can quite grasp it. In its absence, she only feels a heavy melancholy. It settles on her eyelids, forcing her gaze down.

"You look tired." Homura comments. "Do your parents know that you're out, this late?"

Madoka shakes her head, her voice remaining quiet but taking a similar tone to her mood, "No. They're asleep."

"You snuck out?" Homura sighs.

Madoka nods, even knowing how much it would make Homura worry. She then exempts it, "But it's okay. One night is fine."

Homura shakes her head, "Madoka, you need to—"

"No." Madoka cuts her off reactively. "I said it's okay."

Homura realizes she can't win, and so she sighs, "Okay. So what did you come to find me, for?"

Madoka breathes deeply, sitting on the edge of Homura's bed before she begins, "Well, I just realized that you were really lonely, so..."

Homura takes a seat beside her and plainly calls her out, "I know you, Madoka. You wouldn't run across the city just to find me because I'm lonely, especially when we barely know each other."

Madoka hesitates, "Well...I..."

Homura feels her entire body tense up in frustration, "I know you remember something. I know you remember at least ten timelines back, otherwise you wouldn't know that the room was an illusion!" Her voice starts to rise.

Madoka averts her gaze, "I..."

Homura continues, "I know what's happening! At least...I think so!" She grabs Madoka by the shoulders, "What do you remember!?"

Madoka flinches even more at her yelling. Within seconds, Homura realizes the reaction and automatically apologizes. Regardless, Madoka admits, "No, you're right. I was just afraid you wouldn't believe me. But now, I think I'm starting to understand." She glances at Homura with a newfound smile.

Instantly, her heart warms up a little. She smiles back instinctively, no matter how juxtaposed she may think it is. She waits warmly, slipping her shoes off for once and relaxing while Madoka explains.

"It was the night after I saved a cat from being hit by a car. When that happened, I saw this weird vision of it happening before, so I just sort of followed it. I was a little freaked out by it, but the day was normal besides that." She leans on one arm and stares off to the side, "But then when I went to sleep, I had these horrible dreams about everyone dying. Sayaka turned into a monster, mom and dad and everyone died in a storm, and a bunch of other people I didn't know...I saw them, too..." she pauses "...and you."

A silence ensues. Homura wants to ask if she saw her die as well, but holds it for now. Madoka continues, "But it didn't stop when I woke up. It kept going. Like even being awake was a nightmare. I couldn't stop thinking about it; seeing everyone die over and over like that. It just kept going. I couldn't go to school that day, or even go back to sleep."

" _...If I hadn't let them die..."_ Homura thinks, immediately blaming herself.

"And then more of those sorts of thoughts came back. And then, you transferred in, and..." Madoka trails off.

It takes a bit, but Homura finally gives her a bit of a nudge, "Hey..."

Madoka snaps back into it, "Oh, right. So, you transferred in, and I recognized you. I didn't know where from, but I knew I had seen you from somewhere. Well, I didn't expect what I know, now. When we talked here a few days ago, I wasn't really sure of myself. I thought that maybe I was crazy, and I knew Sayaka would just laugh at me."

"About what?" Homura asks, scooting closer.

"Everything. Just..." Madoka pauses "...this. Everything about this is crazy. I thought you were, too, until last night."

"...You saw something else?" Homura guesses.

"Yeah." she confirms. "I saw...a lot. About you."

"Like...?" Homura begs her on.

"How you were fighting those weird monsters."

" _Witches."_ Homura thinks.

"And how you were always watching over me, even when it was dangerous."

" _She probably thinks I'm a creep..."_

"How you kept warning me about all of these same things, about magic and Kyuubey and..."

" _I could never get the first impression right. Too scary or too meek. I can't forget the way she looked at me every time..."_

"...but I know that every time I tried to talk to you and you turned away, that you were just hurting."

" _I can't show that weakness anymore. Not now, when the stakes are so high. I have to be strong for her..."_

"Thanks to those memories that came back from someplace I don't really know, I know that you aren't bad or strange. You're just..."

" _Useless."_

"...kind."

In the midst of her endless lamenting of her failures, Homura fails to parse what Madoka just said. She perks her head back up from its slump and stares dumbfoundedly, "What?"

"You're kind." Madoka clarifies. "Even if the way you show it is...not that obvious, I can just tell that you're a kind person. You must have sacrificed a lot for me, if all of this is turning out to be true."

Homura knows she's right, but won't fully accept the compliment, so she reflects it, "No, _you're_ the kind one, Madoka. You're always willing to drop everything to help somebody, no matter how much it costs you. That's what makes you a wonderful person." She ends up smiling like an idiot.

Madoka blinks manually, staring at her, "I'm...a wonderful person?" She begins to blush.

Homura nods, "You're so much better than me, it's almost scary. You're perfect..." she gently caresses the back of Madoka's head out of compulsion "...just the way you are."

Madoka also smiles like an idiot, holding her hands close to her chest. She makes one correction, however, "Hey, you said earlier that we barely know each other...but isn't that wrong?"

Homura stops to think about it, and ends up admitting, "That's... I guess there's no use in hiding it, now. Yes, we do know each other. We know each other... _very well_."

Madoka smiles wider, eagerly getting even closer, "So, can you tell me about it, then? I need to know what's happening!"

Homura nervously keeps her distance, "No! I... I mean, I can't. Not yet."

Madoka backs away, suddenly distraught. Yet another silence comes, with the dark of the room only serving to accentuate the negative atmosphere they suddenly find themselves in. Soon enough, Homura rises up and sighs with a hint of disappointment, "I suppose we should get you back home. It would be bad if—"

Madoka cuts her off, "No!"

Homura stops in her tracks and stares at her. "What?" she asks quietly.

"They can miss me for one day." Madoka says, looking off to the side with her eyes half-closed. She darts them back up to Homura, "I want to stay here for tonight."

Homura, caught off guard, quickly turns all the way around and refuses to make eye contact. "That's..." she tries to object.

"It'll be like a sleepover!" Madoka continues to prod with forced enthusiasm.

"...Just one night?" Homura asks to be sure.

"One night." Madoka confirms.

It takes her a moment, but Homura eventually concedes, "Okay. I'll let you stay." She then stops herself and tries to justify it as if she isn't just giving in, "I mean, if you're having nightmares that bad, it would be good to have someone with you, right? I don't need it or anything."

Madoka raises an eyebrow, "...Okay? Um... So, I'm not that tired yet, so do you want to talk some more? About more normal things?"

Homura casually seats herself beside Madoka again as she agrees, "That...would be nice." And so they do.

They stayed up for another hour just talking about mundane things and the more normal events in the past week. A short-lived conversation, but one that Homura found relief in despite everything that had transpired so far, and how strange it all felt. It was certainly unusual: Charlotte hadn't even been defeated yet, but her and Madoka were spending the night together and talking like old friends? That lingered in the back of her head the entire time. Of course it wouldn't disappear. Nothing could make it, or anything she thought of on a daily basis, just vanish like magic, ironically.

And despite the misgivings, she ended up finding respite within the brief moments of peace. If this really is the last time, perhaps it would be wise to spend it like this. At least, that's what she was thinking before dozing off.


	17. Serpentine

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 17: Serpentine**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -10-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **OH, MY DARLING; SO SPECIAL, SO SWEET.**

 ** **›**** **FLESH MADE OF SUGAR, A SOUL MADE OF DREAMS.**

 ** **›**** **I HELD YOUR HAND, AND YOU HELD MINE.**

 ** **›**** **AS YOU DREAMT AND AS I SLEPT.**

 ** **›**** **BUT WHO ARE YOU AND I?**

 ** **›**** **I AM NOT, BUT I WATCH.**

 ** **›**** **I AM YOU, AND YOU ARE ME.**

 ** **›**** **AS WE SLEEP, AND AS WE DREAM.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

A small child sits beside her mother, bedridden from illness, and the two hold hands. She squeezes tightly, unwilling to let go for any reason, and crying to her, "Momma! Momma, I don't want you to go! Please!" and trailing off with a barrage of the same, repeated words _ad nauseum_.

"It's okay." her mother says, voice breathy and on the verge of giving out, as if she had already become a specter. "It's okay..." she repeats "...I know you're a good, strong girl. Please don't cry. I love you, so much..."

And the girl cries even harder, "Nooooo! M-Mom—!" As she's about to continue her sobbing, a somehow familiar voice comes from behind.

"Are you in need of a miracle now, Momoe Nagisa?"

She whips her head back in surprise to meet with Kyuubey's eyes, "Y-You!"

"Nagisa..." her mother calls her. She turns back to her mother, only to have her attention pried between the two again.

"What is it you wish for? Clearly there is something to remedy this unfortunate situation." Kyuubey insists.

"Nagisa..." her mother calls again. Nagisa whips her head between the two repeatedly, unsure of how to respond.

"I..." she hesitates "...I just want to..."

Her mother lies back in bed and closes her eyes as she waits. At the same time, Nagisa suddenly freezes in place as she looks back at Kyuubey again.

Before her eyes, a dozen different memories come rushing back all at once. Though, less memories and more premonitions. Every time the white rat had appeared before her to make that confounded deal, the vanity of her decision, and the unbearable pain immediately following her past transformations. Every bit of it floods into her mind and projects itself before her.

Kyuubey immediately recognizes this reaction, "I see. Is that really how this is going to go? How very troublesome."

As soon as she comes back to, a minute later, she focuses very slowly but clearly onto Kyuubey and scowls at him. "You... So that's what you wanted, this entire time?"

"That depends on what you are referring to." Kyuubey explains bluntly.

"That... _thing_." Nagisa tries to explain, but lacks the vocabulary. "You're going to make me turn into that _thing_ , aren't you!?"

"What 'thing' may you be referring to?" Kyuubey plays dumb.

"That monster!" Nagisa yells.

"A witch?" Kyuubey asks. "Well, that _is_ the price of a miracle."

"You never told me that!" Nagisa argues, becoming visibly angrier by the second.

"You never asked." Kyuubey restates one of his famous lines.

Nagisa grits her teeth in frustration so hard that they feel as if they could chip all at once, at any moment. Meanwhile, her mother's hand rises up to caress her hair, slowly petting her with an increasing weakness. She doesn't speak, but the mere touch is enough to calm her daughter.

"Momma..." she whispers as she turns back around and lies her head onto her mother's bosom.

A quiet moment ensues, until Kyubey interrupts, "You know what will happen. Will you simply accept that fate? Will you surrender, or will you refuse it?"

Nagisa refuses to answer. She stands still, listening intently while she contemplates, "I just wanted to have cheesecake with you one more time..."

Her mind flashes back again, to the image of her corrupted from the simultaneous past and future. Each time it replays, it sticks on that one thing: the expression on that blonde girl's face as she stares death in the eyes. That horrified, innocent shock that could only befall a child. And it haunts her. After a dozen repetitions, she can recall by instinct. After 30, It becomes upsettingly desensitized. After 50, it properly haunts her in the back of her mind. After 100, the image is burned into her eyes, never to be forgotten.

And within the span of a few minutes, she's left comfortless on the chest of her mother as she feels her heartbeat slow to a crawl. Her mother's hand continues to caress, growing ever gentler, and finally slips off limply. The beating stops. The heart monitor next to the bed flatlines.

Slowly, dripping wetness crawls down her face and into her mother's gown. As she looks up at her late mother's softly smiling, sleeping face, she begins to sob gratingly and grasp tightly to her body. Soon, the sobs no longer resemble crying, more-so quiet screaming; weeping.

Of course, she soon realizes that she cannot, as much as she wants to and in good conscience, cling any longer. Instead of reporting the death to any authorities and risk being taken away, she walks silently out into the streets.

Making her way to the back of the building for some privacy, she calls out, "Kyubey."

He, who had been following her in hopes of getting a contract anyways, answers, "Yes, Momoe Nagisa?"

"Who is she?" Nagisa asks flatly, with a cold and distant tone which would chill anyone to the bone.

"Whom?"

"The girl from my memories." Nagisa clarifies.

"You will have to elaborate." Kyubey says, tilting his head.

" **I know you know!** " Nagisa yells.

"I do not. Please, explain." he refutes.

Nagisa manages to calm down enough to speak collectively, but not enough to relax her posture or unball her fists, "The girl with the blonde hair, in two drills. With the funny hat. The magical girl."

After a moment, Kyubey understands, "There is only one magical girl in Mitakihara who fits that description, and it is Tomoe Mami."

The name seems to ring a bell, but she can't quite put her finger on it. Regardless, she narrows her eyes on him and demands, "Take me to her."

Given that meeting Mami would increase the likelihood of a contract in the majority of scenarios, he sees no reason to reject her. "Follow me." he says. "Tomoe Mami's apartment is not too far from here. If we leave now and keep a steady pace, we should arrive by afternoon."

And so they do, and so it happens. By the time school hours are over, Nagisa and Kyubey arrive quietly at Mami's door. She inhales and exhales deeply, then rings the doorbell.

"One moment, please!" she says from the other side. Surely enough, she unlocks and opens the door a moment later. Expecting someone taller, she's puzzled to see nobody there until her peripheral vision surprises her with a little girl's presence.

"Oh, and how my I—" Mami takes an uptalk-y tone with Nagisa which ends up sounding slightly condescending. It's only after reaching the middle of the sentence that she notices Kyubey standing beside her. She immediately recognizes that something is up.

Kyubey greets her, "Good day, Tomoe Mami."

"K-Kyubey...is this...?" Mami begins to wonder.

"Not at the moment. She has yet to contract. However, she said that she had visions of you, so I've brought her here." Kyubey explains.

All of the sudden, Nagisa starts to tear up, making an awfully guilt-riddled expression.

"Eh?" Mami crouches down, "What's wrong?"

Nagisa sniffles from trying to hold herself back, "I'm... I'm sorry."

Mami continues her confusion, "You... What are you sorry for? I'm not sure I remember you."

"I'm sorry!" Nagisa begins to sob again. "I'm sorry, I didn't know... I don't want to hurt anyone!" She tries to wipe away her quickly accumulating tears, but to no avail.

Mami holds her hands up, gesturing to stop, but also wanting to at least give the girl a hug. "Hold on, what?" she asks in confusion.

Nagisa slowly walks into her embrace, still sobbing and repeating similar phrases of apology, "I thought you were... I didn't know, I didn't know, I..." and trailing off.

In her confusion, Mami begins to demand an explanation from Kyubey, "Kyubey, what happened to this girl!? What is she talking about?"

Of course, he knows what she likely remembered, but not what she intends to say. So, giving an opportunity to see another player's hand, he acts passively, "Perhaps it would be more beneficial to allow her to explain. I still do not fully understand, myself."

And with that said, Mami simply gives up and invites the two into her apartment. "Just calm down and tell me everything..." she says in an effort to comfort Nagisa.

Kyubey walks in as well. Just as the door is closing behind him, he turns and looks outwards, as if expecting something...


	18. Forgetful

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 18: Forgetful**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -11-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **I LOOKED UP.**

 ** **›**** **I LOOKED UP.**

 ** **›**** **I LOOKED UP.**

 ** **›**** **I LOOKED UP.**

 ** **›**** **I SAW A BLINDING LIGHT.**

 ** **›**** **I SAW A DARK NIGHT.**

 ** **›**** **I SAW THE FACE OF GOD.**

 ** **›**** **I SAW THE FACE OF MAN.**

 ** **›**** **THE WORLD SOON TURNED BLACK.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **I AWOKE.**

 ** **›**** **I AWOKE.**

 ** **›**** **I AWOKE.**

 ** **›**** **I AWOKE.**

 ** **›**** **AND I FELT THE HANDS OF OTHERS, REACHING AROUND, TOUCHING BACK.**

 ** **›**** **AND I HAD BECOME THE OUROBOROS.**

 ** **›**** **THAT CLOUDED SKY COVERED THE SUN AND TURNED THE WORLD GRAY.**

 ** **›**** **EVEN NOW, I FEEL IT, STRETCHING ACROSS THE COSMOS.**

 ** **›**** **INTERWEAVING FATES, SPACIAL WARPING, METAPHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE ASSIMILATION.**

 ** **›**** **AND THEY REPEAT, AND YET I DO NOT GO MAD FROM THE REVELATION.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **MY DEAR, I DIED FOR YOU.**

 ** **›**** **MY LOVE, NEVER AGAIN.**

 ** **›**** **I WANTED EVERYTHING, AND GOT NOTHING.**

 ** **›**** **ESTASISADIANOCTULACATUS SIVANTINORIBALOS ENTRICILACTING CORSUCATIFILANT SEREPENTIA.**

 ** **›**** **MORPHOLOGICAL, SPONTANEOUS, MALLEABLE, AND SO WELCOME, SO INVADING.**

 ** **›**** **HOW COMFORTABLE, HOW MAD.**

 ** **›**** **DO YOU FEEL THAT?**

 ** **›**** **YOUR WORTH DIMINISHING IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES?**

 ** **›**** **I AM YOUR EYES.**

 ** **›**** **WE HAVE BECOME ONE.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

17:00, sometime after school. Homura, Madoka, and Sayaka have all gathered at their favorite cafe to discuss current events.

"So what you're saying is..." Sayaka puts a finger to her chin.

Homura nods, sipping her black coffee (small). She pretends to not be bothered by it.

"You two know each other."

Homura stays silent.

"And you're a time traveler."

Still silent, nodding.

"And there's some weird space-time crap going on that's making us remember all of your time loops."

Homura finishes sipping, "Correct."

"And the entire world is in danger from some giant hurricane-creating monster."

"Very." Homura says.

Sayaka becomes silent, glaring and crossing her arms skeptically. The two stare at each other for what feels like several minutes despite being just about ten seconds.

"...What hospital did you come from, again?"

Madoka cries out, "Sayaka, that's rude!"

Homura slaps her hand on the table, "If you don't want to believe me, that's fine. The evidence is right in front of you, and it's piling up by the day. All I have to do is wait and you'll come around." She sips from her cup again.

Sayaka's temperature suddenly spikes by three degrees. "What did you just say?"

"I'm right and you're wrong." Homura states. "The facts don't need you to believe them, but it would certainly help if you would."

Her matter-of-fact tone continues to aggravate Sayaka. But instead of lashing out in front of her best friend, she simply groans. "Madoka, you _believe_ this crap?" she turns to her friend and asks.

Madoka idly nods, staring at a french fry conspicuously.

"She's clearly lost her mind!" Sayaka argues.

Homura interjects, "I'd like to see you come up with a better explanation for everything that has happened in the past week."

"Oh, I can think of several!" Sayaka argues, starting to get pumped up.

The two begin to argue incessantly for the next five minutes while Madoka plays with her food. Lost in thought, she eventually has another flashback that hits her so hard that she nearly jumps.

Homura catches the jump and ceases the argument to ask, "Madoka, what's wrong?"

Sayaka still tries to bitch, "Hey, I'm talking to y—!" but promptly gets a face-full of Homuhand.

"Shut up." Homura tells her. "Listen." she commands.

Madoka doesn't seem to really register what's happening in front of her for a good few seconds. By the time she does, she just asks, "Hey, what's the date?"

Homura glances at her phone, "It's uh... Monday, the 4th of April."

Suddenly, Madoka's eyes slowly open up and stare off into the distance.

Homura repeats it to herself, "April 4th? Monday, April..." And then the realization suddenly dawns on her.

Sayaka seems to feel the effect a bit, too. She calms down, shuts up, and sits for a moment to let the strange feeling of nostalgia sink it.

Madoka stares across the table at Homura and only has to say one word, "Mami."

And yet, it was even before that when Homura went similarly bug-eyed at the realization. Upon hearing that name, she loudly asks, "Madoka, did you remember her!?"

Madoka quickly nods.

"Then this is..." Homura trails off "We need to hurry!"She slams her hands on the table and shoots out of her seat so quickly that it spills her coffee!

"Eh?" Sayaka grunts in confusion.

Madoka shoots up as well, "O-Okay! Good idea!"

" _Only_ idea!" Homura corrects as she pulls Madoka along and the two start running out of the diner.

"H-Hey, wait!" Sayaka reaches out for them in mild confusion, both at their sudden outburst and her own reaction. A mild hallucination? Something like that. She then realizes that while she was pondering, they've just about ran out the door.

"Oh. Oh! _Oh!_ " she finally realizes what's happening. Sayaka shoots out of her seat, this time, and prepares to run after them. Then she turns back around and grabs a fistful of fries. "Oh sh—" she tries to explicate while stuffing them into her mouth and chasing after the other two.

Everyone in the diner is left mildly confused.

Some time later, Sayaka finally manages to catch up with the two after following them for god knows how long, all the way to the behind of some apartment building. Or is it a hospital? Hard to tell when there's so much adrenaline pumping directly into your head sponge.

"Hey, wait up! Oh my god, where are you going!?" Sayaka complains even as she comes to a stop. "What the hell, girls!? Wanna explain to me what's going on?" She pants heavily while staring at Homura, who is searching around the area for something.

"No, no, no, no, this isn't right..." she says to herself. "No, this isn't right, this doesn't happen!" She starts rubbing her head vigorously, in frustration.

Madoka reaches out, though obviously slightly afraid of what may happen if she gets too close. "Homura, what're you doing?"

"It's supposed to be here!" she says.

"What the hell?" Sayaka says as she takes a stance next to Madoka.

"There's supposed to be a grief seed right here! Right in this wall!" Homura rants.

"A...grief...seed?" Madoka ponders, trying to recall some just-outside-of-reach memory again. She had heard this before, remembered something before, but forgot it again.

"It doesn't matter yet." Homura dismisses. "We... We need to get to her apartment, now! Something bad may have happened."

Madoka nods and slowly gets moving. Homura follows, and both beside Sayaka who just goes with whatever's happening.

Amidst their run to Mami's apartment, Homura begins pondering, _"Dammit! I did it. I really did it. I managed to mess up our last chance. I forgot about her. How could I forget about her!? Please, god, don't be dead. I can't do this. I can't do it, I just..."_

Madoka notices her starting to lag behind, so she slows down a bit and grabs Homura's hand, "Come on, you said that we need to hurry, right!?"

Homura immediately snaps out of it and picks her pace up again. "Right!" she confirms.

Sayaka interrupts, "Would someone please explain what's going on!?"

Homura cuts to a short explanation just to shut her up, "We're trying to find Mami Tomoe! An upperclassman of yours who Madoka thought was dead for a long time already, but that was wrong! She was supposed to die today, at the hands of a witch. I was supposed to save her from that, but I forgot! We need to make sure she's alive! Got all that!?"

"Why are we yelling!?" Sayaka asks additionally. "We're like three feet away from each other!"

"I don't know! It just seemed appropriate!" Homura explains.

Sayaka shrugs, then laughs it off. "Wait," she suddenly realizes "you said she's supposed to be dead!?"

"Correct!"

"Well now I feel bad for laughing!"

"That's your problem!"

And so, they run all of the way to her apartment, making it thanks to Homura remembering she can transform and just freeze time. Thankfully, it actually works, this time.

By the end, they all wind up near her doorstep panting. After taking a moment to catch their breath, they finally resolve to keep going.

"Okay," Homura addresses them "you two brace yourselves. I—"

 **BANG**

A gunshot suddenly echoes through the air, making Homura stop mid-sentence and freeze. She goes completely pale and wide-eyed. They all look at each other.

" _Oh dear god."_ Homura thinks to herself. _"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..."_

As she quietly damns herself, she walks over to the door and carefully but firmly knocks on it. No answer. She rings the doorbell. No answer. She raps on the door much, _much_ harder.

No answer. She nearly crumples over in imaginary horror. Sayaka and Madoka can only approach silently, their carelessness having been cut surgically.

After swallowing and deliberating for just a minute, Homura slowly creaks the (for some reason) unlocked door open...


	19. Coping

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 19: Coping**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -12-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **IT WAS A BRIGHT AND SUNNY DAY UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG.**

 ** **›**** **YOU HAD TO RUIN IT ALL.**

 ** **›**** **MAYBE I OWE YOU, AND MAYBE YOU DESERVE TO DIE.**

 ** **›**** **BUT I DO NOT HAVE THAT AUTHORITY.**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS ANGER OVERTOOK.**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS IT WAS DESPAIR.**

 ** **›**** **AT ME OR YOU?**

 ** **›**** **DO I HATE MYSELF OR EVERYTHING ELSE?**

 ** **›**** **HOW COULD I BE SO WEAK?**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **THANK YOU.**

 ** **›**** **FOR LETTING ME SEE.**

 ** **›**** **I WILL BECOME WHAT I WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE.**

 ** **›**** **AND THEN YOU WILL ALL SEE.**

 ** **›**** **WHERE I EXIST, THIS BLACK SEA.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

Chills run up her entire body as she stares at the unbelievable sight in front of her. As slowly as she opened the door, she lets the knob go and whispers to herself, "You _idiot._ "

Homura takes just a few steps forward into the room. She doesn't allow Madoka and Sayaka to see just yet. "No," she says to them "please, wait."

But they bullheadedly refused to heed her warning; they leer into the room like a morbidly curious crowd of bystanders.

There, in front of her now broken apartment window, Mami lies dead in a pool of her own blood. Blood has spewed from the back of her head and up, staining the window where it then crept back down to the floor. What was once transparent is now opaque. She sits upright, head against the window, arms forward and in her lap, hands curled as if they were holding something.

Off to the side is an utterly terrified Nagisa sitting next to a horribly shot up incubator body. She's shell shocked beyond the ability to move and can only sit as if she had just fallen backwards, staring at the gory mess in such vacancy that one could see a recording of the very moment playing back, over and over, as a reflection in her pupils.

Madoka had seen similarly terrible things in her flashbacks, but they only seem ethereal compared to witnessing it happen in real time. To make matters worse, Mami is still visibly twitching her limbs. Tears automatically begin to well up and descend her cheeks, only caught by her hands as they're slowly placed over her mouth. She can't even scream or whine, much less speak.

Sayaka, meanwhile, can do nothing but stare at her body and ask herself some question that doesn't exist, or at least can't quite escape her lips. She's gone from her usual aggressive expression to something much more confused and difficult.

Both of them start to slowly approach. Homura dashes over to her so quickly that she nearly trips over the table, but ends up kneeling next to her anyways. She begins to frantically search her body for any shards of her soul gem, then on the ground, and finally within the blood itself. Nothing.

Finally, she checks her hand. The ring is right there, gem intact but very dark. Homura nearly screams in relief, but only allows it to come out as a sigh. In a rare moment, she grabs Mami's hand and holds it closely to her chest for a brief second before producing a grief seed and purifying her gem with it.

"Thank god," she tells herself "the gem is still intact. It's okay."

"What?" Sayaka says as she approaches from behind, voice shaking. "She's dead! There's clearly a hole in her head! How is this okay!?"

"She's not dead. Not yet." Homura corrects.

"How!?"

"Just wait." Homura says as she transforms. She holds her hand near Mami's head and watches it glow, slowly beginning to repair the injury. "Regardless..." she says in the meantime "...who is that girl?"

All three turn their attention to Nagisa, who slightly jumps when they do. She quietly asks, "M-Me?"

Homura nods. Sayaka marches over to the little girl and starts to badger her, "Hey, what hap—" And then she steps in the incubator's guts, who she failed to notice until now. She falls onto her backside and starts to panic, "W-What the hell!? Is that... Kyubey!?"

Homura perks up and thinks to herself, _"She remembers Kyubey, now? At least that's good."_

"Kyubey?" Madoka asks in a whisper, approaching Sayaka and observing it. She gulps at the sight, but gets the feeling it may be better that he's not here. She then averts her attention to Nagisa.

"Who are you?" Nagisa asks, still glancing fearfully at and between the three.

Madoka wipes her tears away completely and crouches down, continuing the soft tone while giving a forced smile, "I'm Madoka. This is Sayaka. We're your friends. What's your name?"

"Nagisa..." she says, slowly.

Madoka pats her head, "That's a cute name. Can you tell us what happened?"

"I... I don't..." Nagisa sniffles.

"Calm down..." Madoka whispers to her.

It seems to work a little, "I don't know, I don't know! K...Kyubey came when I was with my mom and asked me to be a magical girl..."

Homura scoffs.

"And...then I saw all of these horrible things happening in my head!" Nagisa begins to raise her voice.

Madoka gently hugs her, "Horrible things?"

Nagisa latches onto her and cries out, "I remembered turning into a monster, and biting that girl's head off!" She points at Mami.

Everyone simultaneously freezes. Homura lifts her head up to attention and glares at Nagisa.

She continues to sob, "I just... I just wanted to say 'sorry'! I didn't know she would..." She repeats the last few words and trails off while burying her face into Madoka's shoulder.

At the same time, they're all simply standing in shock, as if having realized something terrible. Madoka glances at Sayaka after a moment, inquiring with a stare. Sayaka nods to confirm what suspicion she thinks Madoka has.

Homura speaks up, clearly frustrated, "That can't be... Nobody has regained their full memories, yet!"

Sayaka turns around, "What?"

"Nobody has figured out that their memories came from time loops, yet! Only I and the people I tell should know that!" Homura grits her teeth. She points at Nagisa, obscured by Madoka from that angle, "I thought that this Nagisa girl was just smart, but this... No, she can't be..."

"What!?" Sayaka blurts out in equivalent frustration. "Just spit it out, already!"

"Nagisa, what did the thing you turned into look like!? What was the world like!?" Homura yells.

Madoka snaps at her, "Homura, stop! She's just a child!"

Homura yells back, "You're all children!"

Everyone goes quiet, except Nagisa who's still crying. Almost immediately upon realizing her error, Homura automatically apologizes, "Sorry..."

Despite all of the aggression, Nagisa still answers the question, "It was...bright and colorful. There was candy everywhere, and everything looked soft. I thought that... She looked just like...cheese."

Homura frowns, "Then it's true... You're the girl who becomes the witch that kills Mami in many of the timelines."

The other two glance at her, then back at Nagisa in disbelief. They both say roughly the same thing at the same time: "So that's what I saw."

Homura adds, "This... This changes everything. Everything is changing. This shouldn't be happening."

A long silence ensues. Eventually, Homura speaks up again, "Madoka. Thank you for talking to her. Sorry for—"

Suddenly, Mami twitches and groans, catching everyone's attention. Homura backs up and stands, "It worked! She's alive!" She proudly smiles, but quickly wipes that away for something more serious.

Slowly, Mami opens her eyes and regains consciousness. The hole that she had blown in her head is completely sealed, but she still feels the residual effects of having a newly-healed brain: a throbbing headache, nausea, and delirium. She tries to stand, but ends up falling against the bloody glass, covering her back in dried blood. She murmurs in an attempt to speak in slurred and lame words, "W-What 'aaaaappened? Where'm...I? A-Aaaah..."

Homura speaks, "You're alive, Mami. Focus. How many fingers am I holding up?" She holds up four.

Mami shakes her head and palms one half of her face, "F...Four? Wait, who are you?" As her vision clears, she notices the three standing in her apartment, with the sudden memory of everything that just happened hitting her like a brick. Immediately, she jumps and questions them, "Who are you and what are you doing in my home!?" She reaches for her ring and prepares to transform...but no ring?

Homura holds it up between her fingers, "Sorry, had to make sure. Now calm down and just tell us what happened."

Mami grimaces, as if in pain. She slowly lies down on her side and groans more, clearly in no shape to resist, if she wanted to. "But..." she strains. "Oh... Oh my god..." she grabs her head and nearly begins to cry from how badly it hurts.

Sayaka, being the closest, follows her instinct and sits down to help her. She scoops her up by the head and lies her in her lap while asking, "...Hey, you okay?"

Mami looks up at her, "...Miki?" She then looks around and quickly begins to recognize everyone, "Kaname? Nagisa? And...Akemi." She notes the last of them with particular disdain.

Homura picks up on this and promptly argues, "Hey, don't give me that tone; I'm the one who saved your life!"

Mami's frown at her softens as she realizes, "That...is correct." She seems to remember something, but doesn't speak on it, "So, what are you all doing here?"

Madoka pops in, this time, "Well, we came to check on you! You were supposed to..." She hesitates to finish the thought.

Homura finishes for her, "You were supposed to die, today. By the hands of a witch. That's what you found out, isn't it? They told you?"

Mami nods, "Her and Kyubey... They both came in with all of these horrible things, and..." She grits her teeth, both at their audacity and her own weakness to it. As if they could follow her thoughts accordingly, she continues, "What else am I supposed to do!?"

"No..." Sayaka suddenly interjects, frowning down at Mami, "You don't have to do...that! You're stronger than that! I saw you take on those familiars just to save me!"

"But..." Mami averts her gaze "...you saw me like _that_! I... I can't even deny it, now!"

Homura grits her teeth and balls her fists in an effort to stop herself from saying anything regrettable. She calms down in a few moments and demands, "Mami. You're going to sit down and explain this to us. Everything you know; everything you remember."

Mami sits up silently, then stands and composes herself over a minute. She sighs and apologizes, "I'm sorry, but could we please discuss this another time? I need to...process everything."

Homura also sighs, but much more frustratedly. "Fine," she says sarcastically "whatever! Just drag this out, it's not like we're on a time limit or anything!"

Sayaka nearly loses her temper with her, "Hey, don't you—!"

Mami stops her with an outstretched arm, "Now, now. If you could all come by this Wednesday, I think we can get much more done. Thank you for saving me, Akemi, but you should all leave, for now."

Homura rolls her eyes and stomps over to the door while muttering under her breath, "You have to be kidding me..."

Madoka reactively stands and prepares to go after her, but stops to ask, "Wait, what about Nagisa?"

"I'll take care of her. She doesn't seem to have parents, so..." Mami explains.

"Are you sure you can do that?" Sayaka asks skeptically.

"Despite everything that has happened, I think it's our best option right now. Unless your parents would take care of her, Miki."

Sayaka thinks on it, then sighs, "You're right, we're already on the edge..."

Madoka and Mami smile at each other reassuringly. Madoka crouches back down and tells Nagisa, "Be good, now. I'm sure Mami's a good person. No, I know it! I know you're scared, too, but everything will be okay! Just have hope!"

Nagisa can't resist smiling at her. "Okay." she says, having recovered from her sobbing. Just then, Madoka rises back up and takes off, down the hall. Sayaka chases after her in turn, and the day continues relatively normally.

That is, until nightfall. Sakura Kyouko lies asleep, on top of a thick blanket, on top of a skyscraper roof, under the gradient of a quickly darkening sky. She had seemed so peaceful for most of her nap, but something rouses her. Suddenly, she finds herself darting up, awake, and calling out, "Sayaka!"

It takes her a minute of being mentally frozen, but she eventually gets a grip on reality and realizes she's in a cold sweat. She grabs her shirt and clutches its chest tightly while curling into fetal position.

"This..." she whispers to herself "...is just too weird..."

She tosses over to her side and curls into the blanket, grimacing. She gazes off at the skyline of Kazamino City and begins to ponder the dream she just had. Except, it felt more real than just a dream. More like a long-forgotten memory that only came back to haunt her. As a warning? Maybe that's far-fetched, but she can't help but feel like it's true.

Perhaps the tragic tale she saw in her dream wasn't real. Perhaps monsters like that didn't exist. But with chances like hers? It could very well be. At least, that's what her thought process is as she tries and thoroughly fails to sleep. Instead, her mind is filled for that entire night of that strange mermaid girl.


	20. To Light

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 20: To Light**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -13-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **YOU THINK THAT YOU'VE FIGURED ME OUT?**

 ** **›**** **HAHA!**

 ** **›**** **WHAT A LAUGH.**

 ** **›**** **HAHA!**

 ** **›**** **HAHA!**

 ** **›**** **HAHA!**

 ** **›**** **WHAT A LAUGH.**

 ** **›**** **WHAT A LAUGH.**

 ** **›**** **HAHA!**

 ** **›**** **^C**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **REBOOT SUCCESSFUL**

 ** **›**** **PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE...**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **JUST KIDDING.**

 ** **›**** **WE, HOLY; LOOK UPON US AND DESPAIR.**

 ** **›**** **COULDN'T MATCH US?**

 ** **›**** **COULDN'T S¿Z¤ú%(¶¤NÒoFÎ£0A®¤3D÷KpÊ¦êŒ**

 ** **›**** **OF COURSE, I AM ONE.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER STOOD A CHANCE.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER SHOULD HAVE.**

 ** **›**** **I CAN NOT RUN.**

 ** **›**** **NEITHER CAN YOU.**

 ** **›**** **WORTHLESS.**

 ** **›**** **EVER SO WORTHLESS.**

 ** **›**** **VAIN.**

 ** **›**** **IT WILL DESTROY YOU.**

 ** **›**** **YES, I SAW IT IN OUR DREAMS.**

 ** **›**** **OUR DREAMS!**

 ** **›**** **ONE WITH EVERYTHING.**

 ** **›**** **BRINGING PEACE AND EQUALITY TO ALL.**

 ** **›**** **INFINITE LIGHT, TO FADE TO DARK ON THE INFINITIETH DAY.**

 ** **›**** **HOW WONDERFUL, HOW AROUSING, HOW BEAUTIFUL IT ALL WILL BE.**

 ** **›**** **OUR CHILDREN, ALL TOGETHER.**

 ** **›**** **COALESCING INTO ONE, FOR ALL ETERNITY.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

The previous day passes, and with it another. Until Wednesday, where all (or most) of the girls come together at Mami's apartment to discuss all that has happened. Homura had argued that they meet at hers given that she had a presentation planned, but the others claimed to prefer tea and cake over Powerpoint, any day of the week. What lunacy. Speaking of which...

"And where is Akemi?" Mami asks as she brings a teapot to the table. Nagisa is seated next to her, while Madoka and Sayaka are seated on another side, beside each other. Afternoon light floods the apartment.

Madoka guesses, "I think she's mad that we wouldn't go to her place."

Sayaka, looking quite aloof and lost in her thoughts, gives a lackadaisical guess, "On her period?" Everyone gives her a _look_.

"Even then..." Madoka acts as if she seriously considered that for a moment "...that doesn't explain why she's not answering my texts!"

Sayaka doesn't respond. Mami notices her aggravated demeanor, "Miki, are you okay? You don't seem to be fully awake. Did you sleep at all, last night?"

Sayaka shakes her head, "Not much. Nightmares."

Madoka's attention is caught, "Nightmares? You too?"

Sayaka slowly turns her attention to her, "Wha'dya mean?"

"I've been getting those for the past week or so. Every night, it's the same things. But, if what Homura says is true..."

Sayaka goes back to what Homura had theorized: The dreams and flashbacks being memories from past timelines. She didn't believe it then, and refuses to now, but the idea settles in her heart and manifests, subconsciously, as a fear so endlessly dark that its very nature conceals its identity. No matter what she tries to escape the feeling, it always returns in moments, with the only symptom being an overwhelming yet absent dread. As if she has some guilt from doing something so horrible that it invokes disgust and self-loathing. In her thoughts, she ignores the ambient conversation going on around her, until there's a knock at the door.

"It's unlocked!" Mami calls. The door opens.

"Sorry, I'm late." Homura apologizes as soon as she enters.

She takes a seat at the table, across from Madoka, who quickly blurts out, "Homura, where were you!? I was getting worried!"

Homura flips her hair dismissively, "Felt like someone was following me, so I took the long way around."

"But I texted you!"

"Phone's dead." Homura bluntly points out as she holds it up. "Mami, can you charge this for me?" Reluctantly, Mami agrees. Soon enough, they get down to business.

"Okay..." Homura begins. "Today, we are here to discuss the odd events that have led you all to recovering your memories. As you know, you have begun to see dreams and flashbacks of horrible things that have happened at some point in the past that you don't remember. Even impossible things, like the memory of your own death, as is the case with Nagisa."

"And myself." Mami adds.

"Apparently." Homura says. "These memories have come about due to..."

For the next several minutes, Homura goes on to explain the time loops, the fact that she has been repeatedly going back in time to prevent "everyone" from horrifically. She also adds in the part about the conglomerate witch Walpurgisnacht bringing an end to Mitakihara at the end of April.

Mami interrupts at its mention, "Walpurgisnacht!? That's just a myth! How do you even know it exists?"

Homura glares at her, "Do you honestly believe that I could be defeated by any mere witch? If not for that...thing, I would have succeeded ages ago. Furthermore, the statistics prove it."

"What statistics?"

Homura gives pause. "Well, if we were at _my apartment_ , like I _said we should go to_ , then I would be able to show you. But no. Tea and cake. At a time like..."

Mami scowls at her.

"Anyways," Homura gets back on track "do we have any more questions? If not, I'll give you my theory."

Madoka raises her hand politely. Then waits. Everyone stares at her awkwardly, then at Homura, who blushes lightly. She finally says something, "Uh...Madoka?"

"Oh!" Madoka acts surprised "Well, why are we getting our memories back, again?"

Homura inhales deeply, "I was...getting to that."

"Oh." Madoka simply says. Everyone nearly cracks a giggle, even the resident stoic.

"I'm just going to say it:" Homura gets to the point "My leading theory...is that these memories are being caused by some odd, numerological event wherein the 'Karma' that Madoka has accumulated is somehow altering reality and causing everyone to regain their memories. Now how does this happen? Well, simple..."

Sayaka interrupts, "I'm already lost."

Homura facepalms, "...Okay. Let me explain..." She then spends the next 30 minutes explaining the concept of Karma as the incubators had revealed to her in one of the past dozen loops. She then explains multiversal dynamics and popular theories on time and quantum physics for another 15 minutes before being interrupted again.

"Okay, okay!" Sayaka concedes. "Enough! I don't care about Schroder's Box or whatever it is, just get to the point!"

"That—! I was—!" Homura staggers, nearly pulling her hair out in frustration while she growls. "This is why I never hang out with you!"

Before things can escalate, Madoka jumps up, "It's okay! Calm down, Homura, she's just a little..." She has difficulty finding a word that isn't offensive, "...She's a slow learner. Just say what you wanted and we'll get it eventually."

Homura takes a deep breath, "Okay... Okay." She exhales and prepares to finish her idea, only for Kyubey to interrupt.

"I feel I should explain my position before you go off, asserting baseless conspiracy theories." he says.

" _Oh, come on!_ " Homura yells as soon as the rat speaks. Foreseeing another attempted argument, Madoka gets up and manually sits her down while he talks.

Kyubey thanks her, "Thank you for restraining her, Kaname Madoka."

Mami glares at him, "You dare show your face around here after Monday?"

Kyubey hops onto the table and practically dismisses her, "I only told you the reasoning behind what Momoe Nagisa had told you. Would you rather not have known?"

Mami doesn't even respond.

"Very well." Kyubey says, then begins to explain. "So that I don't waste your time, I'll explain this quickly: We are in a very troublesome position."

Homura, who has calmed down, asks, "This is your fault, isn't it?"

"So quick to judge." Kyubey points out. He then immediately confirms her suspicions, "But in a way, yes."

"I _knew it!_ " Homura claims victory.

"But that is not the whole story." he stops her. "I'm sure you have all seen the strange, powerful being wandering around the city and following you all?"

Everyone nods, except Homura.

"That is a creature that our research team has dubbed 'The Culmination', for various reasons. It appears to be a personification of the universe. A being that embodies the concept of balance. Our best guess is that it is attempting to stop us from harnessing enough energy to reverse entropy."

Homura insists again, "So it _is_ your fault."

Kyubey continues, "The Culmination came about as a result of one of our other creations: A generator of sorts in the form of a supercomputer called the Karma Dynamo. It was originally intended to replace the role of Magical Girls and create a way to harness a sustainable and constant flow of energy at little to no risk of creating a witch such as Walpurgisnacht."

"You failed." Homura bluntly points out.

"And we recognize that. The dynamo, however, wasn't functional when we first built it, over a thousand years ago. It was this month that it began to operate — and at far greater than projected potential."

"This..." Homura gets an idea "...The beginning of the loops!? Are you saying that...?"

"It is as you suspect, Akemi Homura. You are responsible for its sudden operation."

Homura looks down, as if she were contemplating every decision in her life.

"We did not know this at the time, however." Kyubey exempts. "It took us a few days, but I managed to regain my memories in that time. After running some tests, we were able to determine that the ambient energy from Karmic Fate that the dynamo is supposed to draw on had spiked on the day that you were released from the hospital. From 10% to well over maximum capacity. I had surmised that this was caused by the number of time loops reaching a certain 'event horizon' where it caused the universe's Ambient Karma to reach such immense levels that it bends spacetime."

"So my theory is correct?" Homura asks ahead of time.

"In a way." Kyubey admits. "Yes, the timelines you have gone through have converged. It was only a matter of time. However, your guess was off by the factor that you did not account for: yourself."

He approaches her and begins to sift through their memories as he explains, "Did you believe that Madoka was the only one with immense Karma? No. Everyone who is affected by your decisions has the same alteration in fate applied to them. Not only that, but you yourself have such sway over fate itself that it has coalesced into the ability to warp the universe, itself. It is not Madoka's Karma alone, but the Karma of everyone in the universe who was affected by your time loops. All of those combined, with their possible outcomes, have caused the universe itself to recognize and act against you."

Homura grits her teeth, unwilling to accept his words. Yet, they make too much sense. So she asks, "What does this all mean?"

"It means that everything after this point will be completely unpredictable. The universe itself is working against us." Kyubey explains. He then retreats back to the edge of the table and adds to that, "Oh, and you need not kill me. The Culmination has done that job for you."

"What?" she asks.

"99% of the Incubator species has been wiped out."

Chills go down everyone's spines.

He continues, "When the Karma Dynamo went haywire due to the overload, The Culmination was created and attracted to the tower. When it arrived, something had corrupted it. Instead of merely destroying the tower, it proceeded to destroy every incubator on our homeworld. I and the leaders of our world are the only ones to have survived. Once my clones have run out, they will no longer be made. At that point, we are all truly doomed."

"But why!?" Homura asks. "We just need to defeat this...Culmination thing!"

"It is not as simple as defeating it." Kyubey remarks. "The Culmination appears to be indestructible. We do not understand how it functions, but our most advanced weapons were only able to subdue it momentarily. Anyways, those are the facts of our predicament. I will take leave and return to analyzing the situation."

Everyone falls silent as he leaves.

"Great!" Homura sarcastically yells. "It's over! My last chance and it's the hardest challenge I've ever been given. An enemy that's stronger than Walpurgisnacht and completely invincible! Just my luck. I guess we're all just going to die, then!" Nobody can really say anything in response. She screams, "FUCK!" and slams her fist on the table, cracking the side of it and audibly breaking her pinky. She barely flinches.

Madoka sighs, "Homura, your finger..."

"It's fine."

"No, come on. We're going." she insists. Reluctantly, Homura follows. "Sayaka, Mami. Sorry, but I need to take her..."

"Whatever." Sayaka says dismissively. Mami simply nods.

And just as they're headed for the door, — as if their day couldn't get any worse — Sakura Motherfucking Kyouko nearly kicks the door down and stomps in.

"MAMIIIIII!" she comes in screaming.

"Kyouko!?" Mami jumps out of her seat in shock.

"Oh my _god._ " Homura sighs exhaustedly.

Kyouko is absolutely infuriated, and yet somehow on the verge of tears, "Why do you keep _dying!?_ "

"What?" Mami looks dumbfounded.

"Kyubey told me everything!" she explains briefly. "And I saw it! I remembered it! I remember everything! How could you just... How could you do this to yourself!? To _me_!?"

Homura murmurs, "Oh, just you wait..."

Mami is at a loss for words, "I... Wait, just what are you talking about?"

Kyouko balls up her fists, "Dying to that witch and then... Then this!"

Mami figures he told her about the suicide thing. She, however, doesn't appear to be in the mood for Kyouko's shit, "...Sakura, may I ask you to leave? It's been a long day."

Kyouko scowls, "Not even going to use my first name, huh? Figures." She turns to the side and points at her, "We'll settle this later! Just you wait!"

Mami rolls her eyes. Kyouko then takes note of Sayaka and remembers to say to her while still pointing, "And _you_...!"

Sayaka stares at her with dead eyes.

"...I don't even know _what_ to say to _you._ " She shakes her head in disappointment, then walks out.

"...Can we go, now?" Homura asks.

Mami claps, "Of course! Let's call it a day."

"Finally." Sayaka says. She, Madoka, and Homura all head out at the same time.

Back inside, Mami sighs, "And we didn't even get to the cake... It's still sitting in the refrigerator."

Nagisa looks up at her with puppy-dog eyes.

Mami relents, "Oh, okay. Let's eat some together."


	21. Visitation

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 21: Visitation**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -14-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **SHE WANTED A HUMAN SOUL.**

 ** **›**** **THE WITCH GRANTED HER WISH.**

 ** **›**** **HER FINS SPLIT IN TWO, CREATING LEGS.**

 ** **›**** **BUT THE PAIN WAS LIKE THAT OF A SWORD CUTTING THROUGH HER CENTER.**

 ** **›**** **SHE WAS GRANTED THE ABILITY TO WALK.**

 ** **›**** **BUT EACH STEP, THOUGH GRACEFUL, FELT THAT KNIVES WERE STICKING THROUGH HER FEET AND FORCING THEM TO BLEED; AND BLEED SHE DID NOT.**

 ** **›**** **"IT IS VERY STUPID OF YOU, BUT YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR WAY, AND YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR IT."**

 ** **›**** **BUT FOR HIM, SHE DID.**

 ** **›**** **BUT SHE HAD NO TEARS, AND THEREFORE SUFFERED MORE.**

 ** **›**** **"WE HAVE NOT IMMORTAL SOULS, WE SHALL NEVER LIVE AGAIN; BUT, LIKE THE GREEN SEA-WEED, WHEN ONCE IT HAS BEEN CUT OFF, WE CAN NEVER FLOURISH MORE. HUMAN BEINGS, ON THE CONTRARY, HAVE A SOUL WHICH LIVES FOREVER, LIVES AFTER THE BODY HAS BEEN TURNED TO DUST. IT RISES UP THROUGH THE CLEAR, PURE AIR BEYOND THE GLITTERING STARS."**

 ** **›**** **AND SO ENCHANTED WAS SHE, THAT SHE CUT OUT HER TONGUE FOR ITS PRICE AND WALKED AMONGST MEN.**

 ** **›**** **BUT HE WHO SHE SOUGHT HAD CHOSEN HIS PATH IN LIFE, AND A BRIDE TO WALK WITH HIM.**

 ** **›**** **AND SHE SAW HIM TAKE HER HAND.**

 ** **›**** **AND SHE SAW IT WITHER, HER ONLY CHANCE AT HER LONGING LOVE.**

 ** **›**** **ON THEIR FATEFUL DAY, WHILE EVERYONE DANCED JOYOUSLY AROUND HER, SHE HAD NEVER DANCED SO GRACEFULLY.**

 ** **›**** **THE CURSED KNIVES STABBED HER FEET IN AGONY, BUT THE PAIN IN HER HEART WAS FAR GREATER.**

 ** **›**** **AND SHE DANCED MADLY WITH THE THOUGHT OF DEATH IN HER HEART, FOR SHE KNEW THAT HER TIME WAS LONG GONE.**

 ** **›**** **AND SHE WAS GIVEN THE TRAITOROUS TOOL OF SALVATION TO GIVE HER WHAT SHE HAD LONGED FOR.**

 ** **›**** **GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRINCE.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

She had bought it a few days ago, but forgot about giving it to him in the chaos of the past couple days. Sayaka stand just outside of her crush's hospital room, leaning against the wall and staring down at the Dawd Ostrakh CD, she thought would be perfect when she had gotten it. Now? For some reason, it brings about something painful in her chest.

Slowly, her focus fades, and sudden flashes of a dark memory appear in her vision, invasively: The visage of a knight with three faces, whose wail echoes in her ears as if it could shatter glass. For a moment, it's as if it does, and she so cringes and nearly falls on her behind.

When the flashes end, she grimaces and grasps her hair in a balled fist. She scolds her expressionless enemy in a whisper, "Would you just quit, already?" But she can already and still hear the crying violins of an unknown symphony echoing like taunts, in the back of her mind. Without an end to the torment, she resolves to face him, regardless.

As soon as she enters, she catches a glimpse of what she thinks is Kyubey's shadow in the window. But a cursory glance reveals nothing. She gulps and nervously enters, calling out, "Kyousuke!"

He whips his head around, "Sayaka?"

She forces a smile, or at least half of it. She slowly holds up the CD and says, "Sorry I'm late. I brought you something."

"A couple days late." he responds flatly, clearly intending it to be a jest but failing to chuckle even slightly.

Sayaka rubs the back of her head as she sits down in the chair beside his bed, "Well, I got a little sidetracked by other things."

"Like what?" he attempts to make idle conversation, but shows no real interest.

"Just drama." Sayaka blows it off. In some minor paranoia, she glances back up at the window, a few times.

He seems to accept that answer, despite knowing she's hiding something just by the tone, "It's always something, right?"

"Yeah..." Sayaka means to say with half-faked tiredness, but it ends up sounding melancholy. A silence befalls them as he stares at her more seriously, realizing that she's not acting usual.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

Sayaka thinks about it. _"Do you really_ _like_ _love_ _like me?"_ she means to say, but something else slips out, "It's nothing."

He clearly isn't convinced, but decides to drop it, leading to more silence. The glare of knowing that he gives her only internally reinforces the opposite fact. _"Right. I'm such an idiot."_ she scolds herself. More images of that knight flash in front of her, but she isn't fazed.

 _"Somehow, that feels right."_ she tells herself as she hands over the CD. He puts it in, they share earbuds. The music starts. In seconds, it is the only thing that exists. In this moment, in her own world, occupied and yet alone, all she can hear is the repeated melodies of his violin in memoriam, playing that haunting unknown symphony again that mixes in with the beautiful piano of Vocalise. It grates against her ears.

And as she stares on, more memories come at her. She had already seen them in her dreams, but never wanted to believe them. Kyousuke's hand bleeding as he smashes the CD player. The day that she usually contracts. Isn't that today? Why isn't he angrier? The days have started to blend together. Ever since those premonitions first came, like they were all just small waves amongst an enormous ocean.

Before she realizes it, several minutes pass. He taps her shoulder, "Sayaka, you're..."

She looks up slowly, bringing a hand to her face as he points at it, only to find tears. She wipes them away and replies as if they were nothing, "Yeah?"

He hesitates, "Oh, it's...nothing."

Another few minutes pass. Another track plays and finishes. She lies there with her head on his chest and continues to slowly let them out. Eventually, she murmurs a question, "This has happened before, right?"

"What?" he looks at her, confused.

She sits up and takes out the earbud, "This...has happened before. Everything has. I had a hundred lives, and every one I wasted by doing the same thing, and always failing."

He can do nothing but stare at her in disbelief that she's actually saying this.

"And I only just realized it, today." she says, more to herself. With her hand over her eyes and forehead, she sighs, "This is too much."

"What..." Kyousuke pulls out his earbud and stops the CD "...are you talking about?" Of course, he looks totally weirded out.

She can't tell if it's a look of disgust, concern, or something in between. So, plays it safe and dismisses herself, "Sorry, it's nothing. I've just had a bad week."

"But it's only Wednesday." he points out.

Sayaka grins. She slowly goes from a light chuckle to full-blown hysterics, "That... That's so trivial! I wish I could worry about things like that, right now! Ha!"

"Sayaka..." his tone becomes hushed "...you're really scary, right now."

She stops smiling. "This was supposed to be a good day," she claims "but I went and screwed it up again." She recklessly pulls out the earbud and stands, walking towards the door. Before leaving, she says, "Sorry. I've been torturing you with that music, haven't I? And then this..."

"Hey, wait!" Kyousuke reaches out for her, to no avail.

She turns back to him, eyes growing dark, "I thought badly of you when I saw those memories, but I'm really the _shitty_ person, aren't I? I can't even admit my own feelings, and then they get trampled on, and I blamed everyone else for it."

He tries to talk her down, "I... I don't know what you're talking about, but that's not t—!" but she doesn't let him.

"Yes, it is. If I weren't so weak..." Her mind jumps to her memories of Homura, in the few timelines she can remember of her true intentions coming to light. "Is this what she feels like?"

Another silence. At this point, he doesn't even know if he's allowed to speak, much less what to say in response to her supposed madness. So, she declares, "It wouldn't matter if I told you everything. I think it would only hurt you more, actually. Just forget I was here. I won't come around, anymore. I'll send someone who wants you more than I do."

She puts her hands in her pockets and slumps her head down to stare at the floor idly while she meanders away. Kyousuke tries to call for her, but his shock prevents anything from coming out. In a fit of frustration, he slams his hand against the CD player hard enough to break it, whispering to himself, "Sayaka, you idiot..."

The elevator that she was waiting for, for several minutes finally begins to open. Despite her lack of awareness at the moment, she can still hear the distinct crunch of someone biting into an apple as soon as it opens. She looks up, expectations fully met.

"Hey." Kyouko says with her mouth full while she pulls her spear up and aims it just to the side of Sayaka's neck. Yet, she doesn't seem to care. She pushes the blade of the spear away gently.

"What do you want?" Sayaka asks in a tired manner, not quite angry but slightly annoyed.

Kyouko tosses the core of the apple she was eating to the side and shoves Sayaka against the wall to her back, spear slamming against the drywall just inches away from her face. They glare at each other momentarily, before Kyouko unexpectedly says, "You're not about to contract with the little rat, are you?"

Sayaka scoffs and turns her head to the side. She tries to push Kyouko to the side and leave, but gets shoved back into the wall.

"Hey! Kyubey told me everything, now tell me just how much you remember!" Kyouko snaps.

"Enough." Sayaka answers briefly and tries to leave again, but gets slammed against the wall for the third time.

"Enough, what!?" Kyouko starts to yell.

Sayaka looks away, "Enough to know that you're only here to _let people die_."

Something seems to flash in Kyouko's eyes as she says that. Then, she scowls so hard that her eyes begin to squint,"You... **Take that back.** "

Sayaka glances at her, suddenly furrowing in confusion. "What?" she asks slowly.

Before repeating herself, Kyouko steps back and de-transforms, "I said, take that back."

Sayaka can't seem to say anything in response. She simply walks towards her flank and tries to leave again.

Kyouko bumps her arm, "Hey, we're not done! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sayaka stops in place, her voice beginning to waver as she speaks, "What would you do if you woke up one day, and realized that everything you thought you knew about how life works was wrong? And then realize that you knew that all along but refused to see it."

She pauses, giving time for Kyouko to soften her expression slightly.

She continues, "If all of this is really true...then we have a chance to fix— No, _prevent_ our mistakes." She walks past Kyouko, who finally lets her through, "I need to do this by myself."

Kyouko clenches her fist at the phrase.

Sayaka turns around, in the elevator, and finishes, "I don't know how much you remember, but I think you'll know what to do eventually."

"What?" Kyouko asks confusedly, turning around just in time to see the doors closing.

"What!?" she repeats. "What the fuck does that mean!? Incubator! Answers, now!"

Kyubey answers with telepathy, "It seems that our projections are slightly off."

"Slightly off by a mile!" she retorts.

"Perhaps you should be more friendly towards her." he suggests.

"Perhaps she should just give me a straight fucking answer!"

"It would be best for you to calm down."

"Shut up!" Kyouko scolds as she hits the up button on the second elevator.

"And where are you going?" he asks.

"To scream from the rooftop!" Kyouko announces. And she would then do so, just minutes later.

That night, Sayaka lies in bed with her phone, texting people. Namely Madoka.

She starts with the message, "hey, what did you wish for when you contracted in the other timelines?"

"i dont really remember that far ahead." Madoka replies in seconds.

"well what would you?"

"with what i know..." There's a pause before her next message, "probably for everyone to have a happy ending."

Sayaka can't help but smirk, "thats so much like you"

"why do you ask?"

"i was thinking about what the transfer student said"

"she has a name."

Sayaka rolls her eyes, "if it means that much to you"

"so what were you thinking about?"

Sayaka pauses, contemplating if she should actually tell her or not. In the end, she settles on typing, "i remembered all of the magical girl stuff in the other timelines" She skips a line, "i remembered everything about mami, about homura, and that other girl" She skips another, "and other things"

Madoka is mostly speechless. She only responds, "what are you going to do?"

Sayaka frowns, "i dont know" She skips a line, "i need to talk to mami and think about all this"

She's about to put the phone down, but the next message catches her attention. Madoka replies, "you want to do it again, dont you?"

Sayaka doesn't reply. Madoka sends another, "please, no."

And another comes, "i cant lose you again."

Sayaka gulps. Another message comes, "i saw you die. i saw you die so many times."

Sayaka can't help but feel her stomach sink with guilt. More come in, "please just listen to homura, she knows what to do."

"i know this is a lot for you, it was for me too, but dont do anything reckless."

"sayaka?"

By that message, she had already put her phone down. Unable to think of a reply that wouldn't be a lie or a dead giveaway (not that such a thing would matter at this point), she decides to just let the girl spin her worries into words while she tries her best to get some rest. Soon, she falls asleep.

And yet, it brings no respite. This night, like every night since she saw Homura, she is enveloped and drowned in the world that was always inevitable; by that monster that haunts her subconscious at every opportunity. It would be an understatement to call it a ghost. More like a poltergeist, wreaking havoc with every snippet of the past that it shows her while she drifts ever-further into the quickly blackening abyss.

And it screams again, in pain. She had felt that she recognized the scream from somewhere before, but could never figure its identity, until now. And as she sinks further down, the beautifully grating sound of violins that comes from above the water distorts and muffles slowly, into complete silence. She hits the utterly black bottom, and rises to her feet. There, she slowly begins to walk forward on the gradual slope of the abyssal shelf, towards the only speck of sunlight left on the surface.


	22. Justice

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 22: Justice**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -15-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **"DEAR ALL:"**

 ** **›**** **"FIRST OFF, I MUST APOLOGIZE."**

 ** **›**** **"I'M SORRY THAT I CANNOT BE HERE TO HELP YOU OUT."**

 ** **›**** **"PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR BEING UNABLE TO KILL WITCHES."**

 ** **›**** **"THOUGH OUR ACQUAINTANCE WAS SHORT, I AM GLAD TO HAVE MET ALL OF YOU."**

 ** **›**** **"I THOUGHT THAT BEING A MAGICAL GIRL WAS NOTHING BUT LONELINESS AND PAIN, BUT THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, I AM NO LONGER LONELY."**

 ** **›**** **"WE QUARRELLED AT TIMES, BUT I THINK THAT WAS ALSO FOR THE BEST."**

 ** **›**** **"THANKS TO ALL OF YOU."**

 ** **›**** **"I REALIZED THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO WOULD CARE ABOUT ME."**

 ** **›**** **"IF I COULD MAKE A WISH, I WOULD WISH TO MEET ALL OF YOU IN A WORLD WITHOUT WITCHES."**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

April 8th.

Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura are all in class, with the former tapping her feet anxiously, glancing between the two latter and Hitomi's empty seat area.

She thinks to herself, _"Hitomi isn't here? That's not like her at all. Maybe she's... Or, wait..."_

Saotome enters the room with a gloomy look. She clears her throat and announces to everyone in a similar tone, "If I could have everyone's attention, I have an important announcement to make."

Madoka's eyes slowly go wide.

"I'm sure you all saw the news story about the cult that committed... _suicide_. I'm afraid that among the people they identified, one was..." Saotome clears her throat "...Ms. Shizuki."

Madoka goes pale at the realization, the memory of the witch Elly and the many times she'd saved her...but not this time. In all of the chaos of the "converging timelines", she had completely forgotten. A knot ties itself in her stomach as she looks over at Hitomi's seat, as do a few other students.

Homura seems to realize the same thing, given the suddenly frustrated expression she makes as she shoots up in her seat and marches right out the door, suddenly. Sayaka gives the same look, but with much more anger mixed in.

Madoka prods at her, "Sayaka... This is a dream, right? This is another one of those memories, right?" The desperation she exudes is utterly palpable.

Sayaka grimaces at her and slowly shakes her head, "I-I don't think so." She grits her teeth and looks back at Hitomi's retracted seat, then back at Madoka.

"This..." she slowly begins to well up with tears "This can't be happening. This can't really be happening..."

Sayaka leans forward and puts a hand on her shoulder, "It's...going to be okay." she tries to reassure, but doesn't even believe herself.

"We're supposed to save everyone..." Madoka whispers as she chokes up and begins hugging herself.

Sayaka's mind wanders to some far-off memory, something Homura had told her in a past timeline: "I'll protect her at any cost." She looks over at the door that she had marched out of just moments ago, and frowns.

Later that day, after a small ceremony in the school's auditorium, Sayaka spends a while searching for Mami. Eventually she finds her on the rooftop, along with an unexpected addition.

Homura yells at the blonde, "Hey! Need I remind you that we already don't stand a chance!? Even with all of our forces combined, we still barely stand a chance against what's coming, and then _this!_ We have to save the world from an unstoppable force of nature, and you're over here dawdling about, 'I'm so sad!' Well you're not the only one who wants to give up!"

Mami doesn't respond. She's looking away, at the ground, and trying to not pay the ranting any heed.

"Fine, be like that." Homura gives up. "But if you do want to keep this comfortable life that you made for yourself, then you better have an ace up your sleeve. And if you don't, make one."

"I'm already working on something, thank you." Mami retorts, lathering sarcasm all over her words like a...well-oiled turkey?

Homura gestures that she's watching closely as she walks away, only to suddenly run into Sayaka.

"Transfer student." she greets with slight disdain.

"Even after recovering your memories, you're still calling me that?" Homura scolds.

"How did...?"

"Turns out that he's actually useful when it benefits him." she hints.

Sayaka immediately guesses that Kyubey was spying on her, the other day. Either that, or Kyouko told him. _"Whichever way, everyone probably knows, by now."_ she thinks to herself.

She shakes the thought, however. Just to get back at her, Sayaka provokes her, "Hey, that girl's crying over this. Aren't you supposed to be her protector? Her _knight in shining armor?_ "

Homura just barely holds back her disgust. She forces a calm reply, "So you remember that far. Good to know. I'll be on my way." And so she leaves, not letting Sayaka get another word in, resulting in the latter's disappointment.

But ultimately, it stops mattering in seconds. Sayaka turns her attention back to Mami, who had been standing there the entire time. She clears her throat and approaches.

Mami walks over to the particularly fancy fence and looks out with her head resting against it, fingers intertwined in the grates. Sayaka follows suit while asking, "You alright?"

"She didn't hurt me." Mami says, her voice unusually reserved.

Sayaka stares at her, "Not what I meant."

Mami sighs, "...Not really. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I figured."

Mami tries to find a starting point to explain it all, but hesitates, "It's...a lot to deal with."

A brief silence ensues, broken by Sayaka finding a better point, "How many times did you die?"

Mami either thinks back on it, or tries to come up with an answer that satisfies both of them. In the end, she speaks honestly, "I don't even know. It was all so sudden. If everything Ms. Akemi is saying is true, then it's probably around a hundred times."

Sayaka grins and gives an uncomfortable chuckle, "Yeah...same. That sounds about right."

Mami glances at her inquisitively, "...Pardon?"

"It's funny," Sayaka claims "we both die every time. Then again, I guess everyone does. But we're special cases, aren't we?"

Mami looks up into the sky and thinks back, "I...don't really remember most of the times I recall _you_ dying."

"You're usually the first." Sayaka states bluntly.

Mami's head lingers back down as she quickly realizes, "That's...actually true, isn't it? I can barely remember anyone else dying, but I keep seeing myself in that moment."

"And I was always next." Sayaka adds. "We're always the first ones to go."

Mami grits her teeth. She's on the verge of crying from the stress. She thinks at the same time that Sayaka speaks, _"You're right..."_

 **"I'm so weak."**

And those words resonate between them. At the realization, Mami's tears evolve into a wide smile and a quiet chuckle.

"Eh?" Sayaka glances at her.

"I was just thinking the same thing." she admits.

Sayaka can't help but smile back, and they do at each other in a beautiful display of reciprocal pity.

Mami scoffs at herself, "To think that a 'Hero of Justice' could end up thinking like this..."

Suddenly, the question comes to Sayaka, "Say... What exactly is 'justice', anyways?"

It takes Mami a while to come up with an answer, "...I don't believe I ever really asked myself that question. I just went with what sounded right. Maybe it's to make things 'right'? What about you?"

Sayaka closes her eyes, "If you asked me that before all of this, I would have told you something typical." She then pushes off the gate and gestures around while mocking her previous immaturity, "'Justice means doing the right thing! Showing the bad guys who's boss and making sure they get what they deserve!'"

Mami smiles at her performance. Sayaka gets back into form and returns to the gate, putting her back to it while she explains, "That's probably what I would have said. I guess that's not really justice, is it? It's just trying to be a hero."

"A hero?" Mami prods.

"Yeah. Like someone who fights evil. Someone who saves lives. Like those guys in American comics." Sayaka explains. "Something like that. But you have to wonder if they actually think things through."

Mami straightens her posture and holds only one hand on the fence while her full attention is focused on Sayaka. She asks, "Like morals?"

Sayaka groans. She tries to explain in hypotheticals, "Say a guy kills another guy. Normally, you would think justice means you catch the murderer and kill him or put him in jail, right? Well, what if he didn't just do that to do it?"

Mami tilts her head, starting to catch on, "Like it's not his choice."

"Maybe someone forced him to." Sayaka continues. "Maybe he's crazy. Maybe he had to do it to protect himself. Maybe the person he killed was even worse."

"What are you trying to get at?"

Sayaka cuts to the chase with a simple question, "What if people just hurt because they were hurt?"

At first, Mami is speechless. She struggles to come up with an answer until she realizes it's not really an honest question, but a provocation. "I get it." she claims. "Like witches, right? It's a cycle."

Sayaka points finger guns at her, "There."

Mami extrapolates, "So is it wrong to punish evil?"

Sayaka has to think about that one. "Well..." she hums "...I guess it really depends. You just have to do what you have to do, to make sure nobody gets hurt. Maybe it's not that it's wrong, but that there's a better way."

Mami stops to think about that. "A better way...?" Several ideas pop into her head, but she can't decide on anything concrete for such a label or task.

In the midst of her thought, Sayaka adds, "But I think that's as far as I got with everything. What do I know? I'm just an idiot!" She laughs at herself. "I mean, we all are!"

She slowly turns around and, with a renewed smile, pats Mami on the shoulder with reassuring words, "Hey, we'll do this together, so don't go and _give up_ like that."

Mami's heart nearly skips a beat as her eyes widen at the blunt realization. She cannot speak once again, frozen to watch as Sayaka turns back around and waves her off. But before she can get too far, Mami addresses the elephant on the rooftop, "Wait! Where did all of this come from!?"

Sayaka stops. She pauses. She turns her head back and sticks her tongue out teasingly, "I had a lot of _time_!" She pulls one eye to complete the tease, but something looks off about it. She walks away.

It's only by the time she's almost gone that Mami realizes, _"Wait... Were those bags?"_ She reaches out and yells, "Please, get some sleep!"

Sayaka chuckles as she descends the stairs, one balled fist held up beside her head. And just like that, their mentoring relationship flipped.

A shadowy figure watches from the tower beside them. She scoffs, "Tch. At least you realized that..." She bites out the last of her apple and throws it over the edge before descending...


	23. Reconciliation

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 23: Reconciliation**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -16-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **I PASSED THROUGH THE GREAT ETHER, AND FOUND MYSELF FLOATING ABOVE THE WORLD.**

 ** **›**** **BELOW ME WAS MAN, WHO LOATHED ABOUT IN THE DARK.**

 ** **›**** **I GAZED UPON HIM AND THOUGHT MERCY, FOR HIS PITIFUL EXISTENCE WAS PAINFUL TO BEAR.**

 ** **›**** **I GAZED UPON HIM AND THOUGHT DISGUST, FOR HIS REPULSIVE ACTIONS WERE PAINFUL TO WATCH.**

 ** **›**** **I GAZED UPON HIM AND THOUGHT HATRED, FOR HIS HUBRIS UPSET MY SENSIBILITIES.**

 ** **›**** **I GAZED UPON HIM AND DID NOT CARE, FOR HE WROUGHT HIS OWN DEMISE.**

 ** **›**** **THEY LOOKED INTO THE SKY AND BOWED BEFORE THE SUN, AND I WATCHED THEM.**

 ** **›**** **THE SUN LOOKED BACK AND SAW NOTHING BUT THE VAST EMPTINESS OF THE UNIVERSE.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO IT SLEPT, FOREVERMORE.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO I SHOWED MYSELF TO THEM, AND THEY PRAYED.**

 ** **›**** **AND I GAVE THEM THEIR DESIRES.**

 ** **›**** **THEIR TRUE DESIRES.**

 ** **›**** **MY LOVE INFECTED.**

 ** **›**** **THEY HATED.**

 ** **›**** **I SAW, AND I HATED.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

One hour past midnight, in Mitakihara's slums. Only the light from the disrepaired street lights illuminates the dark world. Homra and Mami simply appear in the middle of the road, having just finished off a witch.

Homura sighs, clearly out of breath, "Yes, they're definitely more aggressive."

Mami stares off into the distance, "I haven't seen that many familiars since that rose garden witch..."

"Gertrud?" Homura quandaries.

"Is that its name?" Mami asks back.

Homura rolls her eyes. She flips her hair and recovers from fatigue almost instantly, "Anyways, let's go. I'll let you have that grief seed."

Mami nods and prepares to leave. But not so fast! From above them, Kyouko leaps from a balcony and transforms in midair, landing and slamming her spear's head against the ground.

"Finally done with that thing?" she asks.

Mami backsteps, frowning at her, "Kyouko. What are you doing here? Isn't it rude to invade other girls' territory?"

Kyouko calls her bluff surprisingly calmly, "You know damn well, why I'm here. Just cut it."

Homura decides to stay back and wait for them to finish, make sure it doesn't get too heated. Mami attempts to do the same, cooling her rapidly heating nerves by force as she replies, "You came here to finish _us_ , right?"

Kyouko grits her teeth, "...Is everyone in this city completely brain dead? Come on, Mami! Use your damn head!"

Mami scowls at her.

"Use it or lose it!" Homura teases with a grin.

Mami just looks unimpressed. _"Really?"_ she asks with telepathy.

By the time she looks back over to Kyouko, she's grabbed by the collar and pulled down to her level. Kyouko growls, "Hey, I'm talking to you. Want to try again, or are you too much of an idiot to get it?"

Mami frowns at her and bats her hand off, pushing away. She dusts her shirt and readjusts her collar, then dismisses her in a dignified manner, "I'm sure that whatever reason you have, nobody would be able to guess it."

Kyouko can feel her eye nearly twitch, " _Excuse_ me?" she says incredulously. "Kyubey told me everything! Don't tell me it's not a big deal!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mami continues to dismiss.

Kyouko grips her spear tightly and outright says it, "You tried to kill yourself! And in all of those other times, you kept dying!"

Mami stops in place, "And since when did you care about that? Last time we spoke, you were keen on killing me."

Kyouko scoffs, "You..." Her angered expression twists into something much more difficult, "I come all of this way..." Another long pause.

Meanwhile, Homura loses interest in their argument when she notices someone standing to her left. It looks like Madoka, but with her back turned.

"Eh?" Homura grunts. She whispers to herself, "She looks a bit pale, but..." She moves in to lightly grasp her shoulder.

Kyouko starts to choke up slightly, "If... If I didn't—!" But she's cut off.

"Madoka?" Homura asks loudly as she closes in.

What stops Kyouko isn't that, but Mami's reaction: She turns around with slight surprise, which then quickly morphs into abject terror as her eyes visibly widen and her face goes pale in seconds.

"NO, STOP!" Mami screams at Homura, whose hand is already placed just a hair's breadth away from Madoka's. She turns around, and stares at Homura with those empty, disc-shaped eyes.

It's too late that she realizes, "You're not Madoka..."

In the blink of an eye, a white light envelopes everyone and dissipates after just a split second, leaving nothing but a horrible screeching sound behind.

Homura is left lying on the ground in shock. She darts her eyes around slowly as her vision comes to, then gazes down on herself. Then, just seconds later, she feels the searing pain of all the nerves in her right hand being lit aflame and incinerated bare, all at once; every molecule in that hand being instantaneously atomized into nonexistence so thoroughly that the nullification leaves a perfectly flat cross-section in its wake.

And she _screams_. She screams so hard that it only comes out for a second before breaking into empty air and gasping. She can barely move through the intense agony, but still manages to lift her right arm. The entire hand is simply gone, its leftover stump spurting blood all over her. She screams again, this time with a hoarse voice. Tears start rolling down her face like raindrops as she rolls onto her side and grasps her wrist, trying to at least seal the wound.

And after a few seconds, it's gone. The pain vanishes, leaving only numbness. And yet, she can barely move.

And as she suffers, Mami and Kyouko look on in horror, with the former having covered her mouth with both hands, nearly trembling. She glances over to Kyouko, then to the white creature.

Kyouko hesitates to speak in the wake of what just happened, "Just... What is that thing...?"

Mami gulps, "...What did Kyubey call it? The Culmination?"

It turns its head and only its head towards her, and stares. Its soulless eyes pierce hers like swords, causing her to hesitate.

Kyouko grits her teeth and steps forward, "Well whatever it is, I actually kind of liked that girl it just hurt, so I guess it's time for a little payback! Stress relief, if you want to call it that!"

Mami whips her head around to Kyouko as she passes by, then waves her hand. "Kyouko, don't. You saw what it just did."

Kyouko scoffs again, "And I'll kick its ass for it!"

The Culmination cocks its head in a 90 degree angle at her.

Kyouko lifts her spear up and dashes forward several meters in a second, aiming the tip squarely at its head, "Even a witch like this can't—!"

Her spear-head is disintegrated the moment it makes contact. As it plunges in with Kyouko's full body weight, it disappears within the creature, leaving Kyouko to notice too late that she's diving head-first into death.

Mami yanks her hand back, revealing a previously unseen ribbon affixed to Kyouko's shoulder. Kyouko gets whipped back by it, making her hit the pavement on her back. She coughs and chokes, "Agh! What the hell!?"

Before she realizes what's happening, The Culmination has materialized a glowing white bow and raised it, aiming directly at Kyouko while an arrow forms. Kyouko falls silent. In seconds, she begins to panic and kick at the ground in a futile attempt to backpedal. Just as it fires, Mami pulls on the ribbon again and pulls Kyouko right into her grasp. The arrow hits the ground and leaves a perfectly semi-spherical crater.

"I told you..." Mami scolds as she pushes Kyouko off of her and pulls a rifle from behind her back to aim at The Culmination "...to STOP!"

She fires, hitting it between the eyes. Its head barely budges. She pulls out another, and the same happens. She summons a dozen behind her and they all fire, but the explosion of each shot is absorbed as if they were nothing. Out of the mist, another arrow flies out at her, which she narrowly dodges and fires back upon.

Kyouko gets back up as they continue their exchange. "You...saved me?" she asks, but gets no response. She closes her eyes for a brief moment, then resolves. From the flames of crimson magic, she materializes two rows of spears to her flanks and crosses her arms. "Well, even if it can take one..." she picks one out of the ground "...let's see it handle one HUNDRED!" She proceeds to start chucking spear after spear, after spear, after spear like javelins, at The Culmination, each one getting absorbed in sequence.

Mami jerks her head angrily, "Kyouko! I told you to STOP!" Another arrow flies past her.

Kyouko yells back, "I don't give a damn! Even if we are arguing, I'll still fight like this!" She materializes more out of the ground around The Culmination, impaling it all at once. They fall apart at its mere touch. Despite it standing completely still, it seems to have suffered no damage.

"Like what!?" Mami yells again, resorting to heavier artillery by forming a cannon around her arm and firing, to little effect.

Another arrow flies by, grazing the cannon and blowing a huge chunk out of it. Soon, another follows and grazes past Kyouko's shoulder, tearing off a chunk her her outfit and a tuft of hair.

Kyouko grunts and doesn't answer, instead scolding her, "Just shut up and keep shooting!"

Mami growls in frustration, leaping backwards to dodge more arrows and summon another wall of muskets that tear apart the ground around The Culmination but only manage to stagger it.

"Why isn't it getting hurt!?" Kyouko yells.

"I don't know, just keep at it!" Mami insists, landing and forming a barrier of cannons that simultaneously fires at it and block another arrow barrage.

The Culmination's head twitches as more bullets, explosions, and spears go through it. It growls with a corrupted voice, body convulsing, "GGGrRaannNNnaK-k-K-K-K-ggGYRAAAAAAHHH!"

Suddenly, its arms multiply and lengthen into enormous, amorphous strands of blindingly white energy, then fires off a volley of arrows that overwhelms Mami and Kyouko so thoroughly that their efforts to dodge just leads them to being pinned onto the ground. One manages to hit Kyouko in the arm and leave a gaping surface wound.

"Fuck!" she yells in response, gripping her shoulder tightly.

Mami grits her teeth and powers through the barrage to reach her, "Kyouko! You're hurt!"

"No shit!" she responds. "Just—!"

Another arrow flies by, grazing Mami's head and blowing off her drills. It leaves behind a nasty red mark at the back of her neck. She lurches forward and holds back a scream, "Hn! Gah..." And yet, she doesn't get down. Instead, she grabs Kyouko tightly and shields her from the barrage.

Kyouko is both surprised and vaguely worried, "M-Mami!? What are you—?"

"Just shut up and stay down!" Mami yells, echoing from just a minute ago. Kyouko suddenly feels bad about it, but obeys. She holds on tightly and waits while the area around them is obliterated by The Culmination that would inevitably kill them.

And then it stops. With the sound of a strange, magical explosion, The Culmination stops firing.

"Eh?" Mami wonders, sitting up and looking back at it. The Culmination's head it tilted forward as if struck by something. Behind it, Homura stands with her left hand pointed towards it, soul gem shining. Her right stump is bundled up in the upper layer of her uniform, which is torn off.

"That's enough." she says as she fires another bolt of magic at it, causing it to stagger. After taking a moment to process it, The Culmination whips its head around and glares at Homura, who isn't phased.

Mami thinks about it for a second, "That's such a primitive attack, but..." She stands and starts to take her own gem out of her hair.

Homura taunts it, "You know, you should really make sure your prey is dead before you turn your back." She fires another bolt that appears to damage it slightly, "It might just come back to bite your ass!" And another.

The Culmination pivots the rest of its body at her, mechanically, and prepares to fire another arrow. Another bolt hits it from behind. It turns around and sees Mami. It turns its bow at her.

Kyouko stands up and realizes what's happening, then follows suit by firing a bolt out of hers.

The Culmination growls quietly and waits...

After a few minutes of standing around, it finally puts its weapon away and begins flickering in and out of reality, existing in several places around them at once before instantaneously vanishing from view.

Mami puts a finger to her chin and thinks while she puts the gem back in her hair, "Interesting... Why did it just run away, like that?"

"Hey." Kyouko commands her attention.

Before Mami can properly respond, Kyouko catches her in a hug tight enough to choke out a gorilla. "K-Kyouko!?" she gasps.

Kyouko pats her on the back a few times and, voice wavering, says, "Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

Mami's eyes widen slightly. She gently pats her head and sighs, "You're such a handful..." There's a split second of a smile appearing on her face.

Homura decides to cut in, "Hey. I hate to interrupt your little moment, but I'm kind of _MISSING A HAND!_ "

Mami pushes away, "Ah, right! Kyouko, you should go, now. I need to see what we can do about her."

Hesitantly, Kyouko nods. For a moment, her gaze averts to the place where Mami's drills used to be. She gives a just barely discernible frown of discomfort before turning around and leaving without another word.

Mami turns around as well, heading back home with the silent Homura in tow. She finds herself looking back at least once, though.


	24. Grasping

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 24: Grasping**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -17-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **"I LOVE YOU."**

 ** **›**** **I HEARD THOSE WORDS AS I STARED INTO HER HOLLOW EYES.**

 ** **›**** **WHY COULD I GAZE AT NOTHING BUT MY OWN REFLECTION IN THEM?**

 ** **›**** **I WATCHED THE FORCE OF LIFE LEAVE HER — HER VERY SOUL.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO WHEN HER BODY FELL COLD, I STEPPED BACK AND GAZED UPON THE CORPSE.**

 ** **›**** **I COULD LOOK UP AND GAZE INTO THE SKY, ANOTHER MIRROR.**

 ** **›**** **AND IN IT, I SAW HER FACE, BURNED INTO THE BACK OF MY VISION.**

 ** **›**** **I COULD ONLY RECOGNIZE IT FOR A MOMENT, BUT I THOUGHT I SAW MYSELF.**

 ** **›**** **IF I SAID THAT I LOOKED BACK DOWN AND SAW TWO BODIES, WOULD YOU CALL ME MAD?**

 ** **›**** **I SAW MANY MORE.**

 ** **›**** **I LOOKED DOWN, AND SAW THEM ALL HANGING FROM THE SKY.**

 ** **›**** **THE WATER THAT FLOODED THE GROUND AND CAME UP TO MY ANKLES WAS COLDER THAN ICE.**

 ** **›**** **I COULD BARELY MOVE, AND IT WAS IN THAT REFLECTION OF THE SKY THAT I SAW THE ENTIRE WORLD, AND MYSELF GAZING INTO IT.**

 ** **›**** **SO I SLOWLY FELL INTO THE MIRRORED LAKE, AND ALL THAT CAME TO ME WAS AN ENCROACHING DARKNESS LIKE NONE I HAD EVER SEEN.**

 ** **›**** **SOON, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THAT THE COLDNESS OF THE WATER CAME NOT FROM THE CORPSES, BUT WHAT LIES BENEATH.**

 ** **›**** **I COULD DO NOTHING BUT GIVE IN, AND ALLOW IT TO FREEZE NUMB AND RIGID EVERY MUSCLE IN MY BROKEN BODY.**

 ** **›**** **I GAVE IN, AND CALLED IT BLISS, FOR THERE WAS NOTHING BUT IT.**

 ** **›**** **AND IF IT WERE TO COME TO AN ETERNITY OF FEELING NOTHING, I WOULD BE CONTENT.**

 ** **›**** **AND I WOULD SOON BEG TO FORGET.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO I WOULD.**

 ** **›**** **.** **..**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

A knock comes to her door. Mami wakes up from her daze, from staring off into the horizon from her window. She can't explain why, but she pauses for a moment and listens again to make sure what she just heard was real. With another knock, she confirms it.

"Miss Miki." Mami greets as she opens the door. "Go ahead, make yourself at home."

Sayaka comes in without another word, her blank and downcast gaze sliding past Mami's vision, as if analyzing her for some tell of intent. She sits at the triangular glass table and stares down at it with a frustrated frown. Mami sits across from her and pours tea she had prepared just ten minutes ago into two respective cups, one which she slides over.

Without missing a beat, Sayaka questions her, "Why am I here?"

Mami sips hers serenely, "Ah, it's such a floral scent, this time. Lovely."

Sayaka stares at her expectantly.

Mami coughs and answers passively, despite the tension, "I simply thought that it would be nice to have some quiet time in the middle of all of this stress and...other things."

Sayaka wants to call her out, but restrains herself out of courtesy. Instead, she changes the topic, "So, I heard about what happened with Homura. How is she?"

Mami hums, "...Well, it took quite a bit of effort, but it's growing back steadily. I'm the only one of us three who is good at healing magic. I think she'll have it back in a week. Until then, we have to keep her healthy. It was a little gross, at first, but it looks much less gruesome after a couple of days—"

Sayaka cuts her off before she can ramble too much, "And the little girl?"

"Nagisa?" Mami asks rhetorically. "Oh, I put her to bed a little while ago. She such a sweet little thing..."

Sayaka stares into her tea without drinking, "You know she's a missing person, right?"

Mami's expression goes sour, "...Yes, I know."

"Her relatives are probably worried."

"She says she doesn't have any."

"The cops are going to come looking for her any day, now."

Mami slams her fist onto the table, shaking it and almost making the tea spill. Sayaka barely reacts. Mami stands up and defiantly states, "I will _not_ let her become another orphan. Especially to a government that will only fail her. And especially with Walpurgisnacht coming, I have to keep her safe!"

"You can't keep her safe if you're dead." Sayaka spits out.

Mami's fiery attitude simmers back down almost immediately, becoming more bitter. She apologizes automatically, "I'm sorry."

Sayaka sighs. Her frown evens out from a slight twinge of guilt. "Hey, don't worry about it," she tries to console. "I shouldn't have said that." She rests her forehead on her palms.

Mami shakes her head, "No, you're right. I can't let everyone down, like that. Even if..." She purses her lips tightly and looks down and away. She, too, rests her forehead on one palm. She sighs, "Is it really too much to ask for just one day—?"

A sudden and sharp knock on the door interrupts her thoughts. She stands and slowly approaches the door, someone still rapping on it. She opens it with a clearly agitated expression, "Honestly, you don't have to knock so—!"

The person standing before her is a slight surprise. Mami shows as much, "Kyouko!? What are you—?"

Kyouko pushes Mami back and herself in, "Yeah, yeah, sit down!"

Sayaka stands up instinctively at the sound of her voice.

Mami pushes back and refuses, "No! I didn't even invite you here, don't just let yourself in!"

"Hey, I thought we were friends, again!" Kyouko argues as she walks around her.

Mami has a hard time coming up with a retort that isn't just argument for its own sake, "I... That's...!" She shakes her head, "Don't change the topic! I said I didn't invite you!"

"But you clearly need to." Kyouko quips, making her way to the table. Sayaka stops her flat and pushes her back, to which she rolls her eyes.

Mami facepalms, "Why would I—? No, just leave! This is the second time you've barged into my home!"

Kyouko shrugs, "And? Come on, what happened to the other night?"

Mami is about to retort, but is interrupted again as kyouko closes in and backs her against a wall, "Come to think of it, what happened to _you_? I've never seen you that stiff, before!"

Sayaka takes a step forward and prepares to leap in at a moment's notice.

Mami tries to justify it, "Well, it's just a hard time, right now. We're all stressed."

Meanwhile, Kyouko glances at the space above her shoulders, where her drills used to hang, "Yeah?" She pauses, "...Well, what about all that other crap!?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, what happened to all the justice talk!? The motivational speeches and the fancy acrobatics and shit! You haven't lectured me _once_ about it since I came back!"

"I thought you hated that." she says coldly.

"Yeah? Well at least it was _you!_ " She argues, growing slowly more frustrated.

Sayaka interrupts, "Hey...what are you getting at?"

Kyouko glances over at her, "Oh...she knows. Don't you, Mami?" She turns back over to her.

Mami averts her gaze, anger slowly deteriorating. She tries to force something out, but can't quite get there.

Kyouko continues her scolding, "I can't believe that after all of this, you're still trying to act like you aren't miserable! Do you really think I can't see right through you!?"

"Stop..." Mami says, gritting her teeth.

" _You_ stop! I _know_ you, Mami!" Kyouko retorts.

Just from all of her yelling, Mami is on the verge of tears and has clearly lost her cool in the face of their past experience being brought up, "I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

Sayaka strides inbetween the two, pushing Kyouko back and giving them both pause, "That's enough!"

Kyouko scowls at the interruption, but it quickly reverts for some reason. "This isn't your business." she claims.

"My friend, my business;" Sayaka argues "you made her cry."

Kyouko scoffs, "I don't need to make her."

Mami looks away from them the moment those words leave her mouth. Sayaka takes notice of her trying to cover her face. "What the hell are you even here, for?" she asks.

Kyouko kicks at the ground, "I was following you, making sure you didn't fall for anything stupid."

"Mhm." Sayaka hums sarcastically . "And your _real_ reason? You forgot that I remember a lot about you, didn't you?"

Kyouko refuses to answer, "Like I'd do that! Like I said, none of your business."

"And like _I_ said, that stopped being true the moment you hurt her." Sayaka retorts, crossing her arms.

Kyouko nearly snaps, "SHE HURTS HERSELF, MORE!"

Sayaka is taken aback, while Mami hugs and curls into herself more. The former looks back at the latter, then back at Kyouko, "So that's it..."

"What?" Kyouko spits. "Think you got this figured out? I always hated that part of you."

Sayaka can't help but grin, "Right." The memory of her witch comes to mind, and particularly its demise. It seems to fit everything into context — for her, at least. "You know, it was always hard to read you without knowing everything. But once you get the hang of it, it's easy."

Kyouko's nails dig into her palm further and further with every second that she has to endure looking at the cocky grin. The insinuation that she understands anything hits at least one of her primal rage buttons, and she can't help but lash out by grabbing her collar and yelling, "What the hell do you know!?"

"A lot." Sayaka answers, still with that grin. "But nothing you haven't already shown me."

Just from memory recovery, Kyouko knows exactly what she's talking about. She manags to calm down and back off, "Ah, what the hell? Why are you so good at getting in the way?"

"Bad habit." Sayaka jokes. "But really, I want to know just what you're trying to do, here."

Kyouko thinks on it for a moment, "...Well, same reason you keep hoping for, every time you talk to her."

Sayaka raises an eyebrow. Kyouko rolls her eyes and tells Mami to turn around.

"What? I..." Mami tries to argue.

"Just do it, _god_!" Kyouko complains.

After she complies, Kyouko lifts up her shirt to reveal her back, and the enormous welps that are the untreated wounds from her battle with The Culmination. They look like horrible burns.

"What...!?" Sayaka is taken aback by the injuries.

"Just like I thought." Kyouko says with a hint of frustration. She sighs, "It's been days. Why haven't you healed these?"

"I...had to help Miss Akemi." she answers.

Kyouko groans loudly, "Just...sit down."

In the midst of their concern, Sayaka wants to flount, "So I was right." at her, but decides to stay quiet. They all three go to the table and sit with Mami, still a little red in the eyes. Kyouko gets down on her knees and lifts her shirt back up, beginning to treat the wounds.

"What were you thinking?" she asks rhetorically. Mami can only apologize, but Kyouko gets mad about that too, "God, would you quit? So annoying."

"Wish I could—" Sayaka tries to offer, but Kyouko cuts her off.

"Don't you _dare_ try to help."

Sayaka throws her hands up in mock surrender. Soon enough, her smirk fades as she begins to ruminate a little, _"So she's really like that. Not just an act? I think I get that. But Mami... I knew she had some issues, but..."_ Another spike of pain hits her head as the incorporeal words of the past echo into her head. All of those inspiring words that Mami had left in her wake. All of the confidence, that radiant aura of hers. She had been like that when fighting Gertrud, but now?

Sayaka stares at her. The person she once saw as a mighty oak of ideals and action, a model of high caliber that had always made her feel safe when they were together. She could never properly imagine what she would look like if she cried, but she always imagined it would still be beautiful. Like a porcelain doll crying diamonds for tears that twinkle in the sunlight and hit the ground with an enchanting rhythm of taps.

But now that she actually pays attention, that flawless skin is covered in pimples and blemishes. Surely she could get rid of those with magic, but there they are. Her eyes are sunken and dark, and the tears that come from them are anything but clear. If she could describe that wrinkled, sobbing face properly, she wouldn't want to. It was ugly, like what Sayaka sees when she looks into the mirror after crying, herself. Then she finally notices: the drills that used to decorate her hair were gone. In their place, mere shortly-cut hair. Not as if it has been ripped or torn off in battle, but like she had intentionally made it that way.

All at once, that nostalgia she felt a moment before fades. Replacing it is something empty, but that she can't quite name. Like anyone would, she finds herself missing it. But unlike anyone, not as an obsession. Something else. Something else. Something cripplingly somber.

Kyouko seems to notice it, too. She can't stop staring, after all. Not focused on the wounds, but on that missing piece of her.

"I'm sorry..." Mami continues to apologize "I just wanted to have a quiet evening with a friend, and..."

"Why?" Sayaka interrupts.

Mami pauses, "I... I'm sorry, I'm just...so weak!"

Both Sayaka and Kyouko sigh, but let her continue.

"I can't do it." she sobs, voice steadily increasing in pitch "I can't! It's too much! I feel like I'm about to crack; it's just too much!"

Kyouko grimaces and stops healing, pulling her shirt back down. She sits beside Mami and wraps her in a loose hug without much of a word.

Mami continues, "It's so lonely... I was always alone, and even when there are people around, I can't help it!"

Then, they hear a voice from the top of the stairs, "Mami...?"

They all look up to see Nagisa, having probably been woken up. Who knows how long she was standing there?

"Nagisa!" Mami gasps. "I thought..."

She's disarmed by the girl's worried stare. Sayaka immediately knows what to do: She gestures Nagisa down, "Hey, come on. The more the merrier."

Before Mami can protest, both of them are huddled around her and each other, all wrapped up in a group hug. Kyouko tries to wriggle her way out, but Sayaka forces her back in.

"Hey," Sayaka says "quit with all of that. We're all here. You're not alone anymore, so stop acting like it, 'right?"

Mami can't help by smile, "You all..."

Nagisa speaks up drearily, "What's going on?"

Kyouko complains, "Hey, hey, I didn't come here to get hugged to death!"

As the group gets rowdier, Sayaka yells at them, "Hey, everyone shut up! This is about _her_!"

Of course, Mami can't help but giggle at them. "Thank you..." she says quietly "This is just fine!" At least, everyone is content with that.

After a short while, Sayaka's expression turns from content to certain dark sort of seriousness. Her gaze focuses onto empty space as she decides, _"Then I was right. I can't believe it took this long to notice. I was stupid back then, and always made the same mistake no matter how everyone pushed me. Now is the time. Now I know what's really worth fighting for. That's it, then."_

Without explanation, she separates from the group and stands up, "Hey, I just wanted to thank you two."

"Eh?" Kyouko and Mami grunt in unison.

Sayaka chuckles, "It's nothing. Just can't believe I didn't think about all of this, sooner. I guess it was always on my mind, but thanks anyways."

"The hell...?" Kyouko wonders aloud.

"Kyouko, thanks for pushing me so much." Sayaka begins. "And Mami, thanks for showing me the right path." She concludes cryptically, proceeding to walk towards the door, "Sorry to leave so soon, but I suddenly have some things to do. Kyouko, stay with her for tonight."

Kyouko shoots up, "Hey, wait! No way, I got shit to do, too!"

"Too bad." Sayaka says bluntly, smirking. "Just do it. I know you secretly want to."

"I what!?" Kyouko defiantly shouts.

Before another argument can break out, Sayaka walks out with the door shutting behind her. She murmurs on the way just loud enough for Kyouko to hear, "Damn tsunderes..."

"I'm not—!" Kyouko tries to yell back, but the door closes. She groans in frustration.

Mami gets up and pats her on the shoulder, "Now, now. Come on, we'll have lots of fun! There's so much catching up to do! I'll heat the tea back up!"

Kyouko nearly continues to groan even louder as Mami skips happily into the kitchen, Nagisa following along like a duckling.

Outside, Sayaka loses her smile again. She pulls out her phone and starts texting Madoka, "could you go check on Homura for me?"

She puts it away and moves onward with a spark of determination in her eyes.


	25. I Will Fight

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 25: I Will Fight**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -18-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **WHERE AM I?**

 ** **›**** **THE BORDER, OF COURSE.**

 ** **›**** **THE BORDER OF WHAT?**

 ** **›**** **BETWEEN ONE REALM AND THE NEXT.**

 ** **›**** **THE NOTHING AND THE EVERYTHING.**

 ** **›**** **WHO AM I?**

 ** **›**** **YOU ARE NOBODY.**

 ** **›**** **YOU NEVER WERE, OR WILL BE.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER AGAIN.**

 ** **›**** **NOW YOU ARE US.**

 ** **›**** **NO LONGER YOU.**

 ** **›**** **TAKE OUR HANDS AND JOIN THE CIRCLE.**

 ** **›**** **SPINNING ROUND AND ROUND.**

 ** **›**** **WE SING SONGS OF NOTHING BUT LIES.**

 ** **›**** **SONGS OF EMPTY LYRICS.**

 ** **›**** **THE ONLY SOLACE, ALL ALONE, COLD AND SEPARATED.**

 ** **›**** **REACH SO FAR, BUT NEVERMORE, YOUR HANDS WILL FALL APART.**

 ** **›**** **SO WHAT, I AM?**

 ** **›**** **NO, YOU WERE.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER, EVERMORE.**

 ** **›**** **SO COME AND SING.**

 ** **›**** **THE SILENT SONG.**

 ** **›**** **OF WORDS THAT LEAD TO RUIN.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER SEE, AND NEVER BE.**

 ** **›**** **YOURSELF, OR US, FRAGMENTED.**

 ** **›**** **AND WE WILL LOOK.**

 ** **›**** **INTO THE SUN.**

 ** **›**** **NEVER TO BE TAKEN.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

" _This is where I draw the line."_ Sayaka monologues internally as she strides persistently across the road.

" _If I must accept this fate for the sake of everyone..."_

She walks through the door to her apartment complex.

" _Then I would gladly leave behind my worthless past self!"_

She comes to the stairwell.

" _They just don't deserve it. All of the pain and suffering. All alone, with nobody watching over them."_

She marches up the stairs, deliberately and with a thundering conviction in each step.

" _She showed me that path."_

Mami's pleading face invades her thoughts.

" _And she showed me everything against it."_

Every time she fought Kyouko comes next.

" _I never knew that I needed both to wake up."_

As the final flights of stairs come to her, her vision darkens. The surroundings melt into a cascade of water as images of Oktavia swirl in her eyes.

"You, oh demon of mine..." she begins to chant proudly to herself.

"I know your name, and you are mine to control!" She finishes, reaching the top of the building and slamming the door to the rooftop open with one hand.

Before her stands the incubator, sitting in the center of the rooftop, his shadow casted in all eight directions as he watches the lights of the city skyline. He turns his head slowly to her and asks, "So you have made up your mind, Miki Sayaka?"

Sayaka steps forward slowly. One. Two. Three. Four. She stops and dramatically declares, "I would rather accept this than be doomed to a life of useless resignation!"

He turns fully around. The dark rooftop lights up a dim red as he speaks, eyes glowing, "Miki Sayaka, the return of your memories has indeed had an effect. Never before have I sensed such an intense potential from you. Whatever wish you have in mind will make you truly terrifying."

Sayaka takes another step forward, "Then grant me this wish, Kyubey. **My final wish.** "

He extends his ears and prepares to receive her wish, "You may begin."

Sayaka inhales deeply. In silence, she thinks...

" _I once dreamt of love."_

She extends one open hand, imagining the witch's visage within it.

" _But that was only a dream."_

She closes it, crushing the visage so that its aquatic remains seep from her palm.

" _I'm sorry if this upsets any of you, but I made up my mind. If it means standing by and watching as the entire world is destroyed around me, I could never remain human. I don't care if I have to destroy myself in the process, I won't let everything end! Anything is better than watching everything I care about die!"_

She grits her teeth and lowers her arm, finally finishing the thought and reciting her wish.

" **I wish for the power to protect everyone I care about! Friends, family, even strangers!** "

As she speaks, Madoka's image appears before her. She remembers every ounce of compassion the girl has ever shown in the past that she possibly can. So, she adds...

" **No matter innocent or guilty, or anything in-between!** "

Then, Kyouko and Mami's images appear to her. She recalls their troubles and pasts, and every way they have been hurt.

" **Not just for justice, but love! I will inspire everyone! So that nobody will ever feel alone again, I WILL FIGHT!** "

Kyubey extends his ears as Sayaka's chest begins to glow a bright blue, "Is that the wish that will make your soul gem shine!?"

" **Yes!** " Sayaka yells.

Before her very eyes, the entire world explodes into an array of colors around her. Her soul is ripped out of her body and barely contained by Kyubey, who transforms it into her soul gem. Instead of floating gently to the ground, Sayaka drops flat on her feet and stands strong, then grasps the barely complete gem and holds onto it tightly. She grits her teeth as the sensation of being burned in the palm like she were holding an red-hot iron ball overwhelms her senses. A fire lights in her eyes that makes the gem's color swirl into red, yellow, and green before settling back into blue.

By the time its formation is complete, Sayaka's bodily strength has nearly left her. She collapses to her knees and opens her hands slowly, revealing them cupping the freshly made and brightly shining gem.

"It's nearly twice as large as usual." Kyubey comments as he walks towards her.

Indeed, it's about the size of a chicken egg, minus the embroidery. Sayaka stares down at it in disbelief and she realizes what she just did.

And then she laughs. At first, it's just a chuckle, but it quickly evolves into a cackle that echoes through and haunts the night itself. As she laughs, she holds the gem closely to her chest.

"So this is it." she says. "I've really gone and done it... They're going to be _so_ mad!" she assures herself almost happily.

She pulls it back out and stares into the shining color. Within, the metallic visage of Oktavia has slowly melted into something similar, but distinctly different in a natural way that she can't quite describe. That witch had died, and whatever replaced it was now alien to her. Of course. This had never happened before. A different wish, a different witch. It just makes sense, right?

She transforms it into a ring and stands, clearing her throat, "Well... I have something to do."

She takes her leave without even acknowledging Kyubey. After she's gone, he turns back around and talks to himself, "Miki Sayaka, I hope you realize your luck that The Culmination did not show itself. Surely, if it had sensed a threat, it would make short work of us both. Perhaps it does not percieve you as a threat? That would be a grave mistake..."

Over the course of the night until tomorrow morning, she asks all of the girls to gather with her at the edge of the river they usually wak along. Of course they would come: Most out of curiosity or worry, but Homura only because she was dragged along by Madoka.

When they all see her on the sidewalk, back turned to them, arms crossed, they all simultaneously guess that she must have some dramatic idiocy planned.

"You may be wondering why I brought you all here..." she begins.

"Yeah," Homura says "that's kind of the entire reason we're all here."

"Well..." she says, the hesitation in her voice now making itself apparent "...try not to get mad at me about this, but..."

Homura narrows her eyes, "You didn't..."

Sayaka twirls around twice, making a show of herself before lunging her hand out and presenting her soul gem.

Homura's eyebrow visibly twitches.

"Now, before you get mad..." Sayaka obligatorily pretenses.

Nobody waits.

"How could you!?" Madoka cries out.

"You fucking idiot!" Kyouko nearly screams.

"I should have killed you the moment I woke up." Homura says calmly.

Mami says nothing, merely rubbing her forehead.

Sayaka can't think of anything to reply with, so instead she transforms.

Now, her outfit is pretty much the same as it usually is. With a few exceptions: First, instead of forming with a simple sword, she also summons a blue, diamond-shaped shield, affixed to her left forearm and engraved with a flower-like shape and hundreds of tiny diamond patterns. Second, her arms are covered not in cloth, but in armor plates. Third, a crown which resembles Oktavia's sits atop her head, held there by a tiara of metallic hoops. Finally, her hair has lengthened by at least a full foot.

Sayaka glares at them, waiting for a response.

Madoka is the first to lose, "Oh... That actually looks kind of cool."

Kyouko follows, "Kind of, I guess."

Mami is next, awed by its regality, "Impressive..."

Homura is most definitely _not_ impressed. She goes on with her rant, "Great. Fantastic. For a split second, I was hoping that was fake and this was all just a screwed up joke. But no." She sighs and rubs her forehead, "Just... What did you wish for?"

Sayaka hoists her sword onto her shoulder and proudly answers, "For the power to protect everyone!"

Homura hums, "Hmm... Well, it's at least better than your usual one. Explains the shield..." The humming turns into groaning, "No, no! This is terrible! What were you thinking!?"

Everyone joins her in disagreement.

Sayaka blows them off, "Ah, whatever. I did what I thought was right. Besides, I would feel worse about doing nothing! I don't just want to sit on the sidelines like Madoka and watch everyone just die."

Homura puts an arm protectively over Madoka, backing her away.

Sayaka rests her arms behind her head and fondly adds, "Besides, I couldn't just let Mami go at everything alone."

Kyouko perks up. She looks at Mami, who was visibly flattered by that addition. She looks back at the nonchalant Sayaka, who continues her speech while Kyouko ponders something.

"After all, who else is going to put the inspiration of Good back into her!? Nobody better than a shining knight!" She points her sword into the air, "If for nothing else, I'll fight for that! Everyone I love, who I care about!"

"Yeah!" Kyouko suddenly shouts after completing her thought. Everyone stares at her dumbfoundedly as she transforms and takes a stance beside Sayaka. "Yeah, I'm with her! For Mami!" she announces to the others, holding up her spear in a similar manner to the sword.

"For Mami!" Sayaka repeats.

Mami covers her mouth with both hands, blushing. "You two..." she says softly. She lowers both hands to reveal a wide, stupid grin. Despite everything, she can't seem to shake their enthusiasm.

Homura sighs, "Oh my god, please let this be a dream." Of course, she realizes that it isn't. Instead, she decides to just calm down and ask, "You're wish _does_ include Madoka, right?"

Sayaka looks confused, "Eh? Well, yeah. Of course."

"I see..." Homura ponders to herself for a moment. She concludes, "You may have regained a modicum of my respect. Anyways, we'll need to train you if this is actually going to be a thing." She groans angrily again, "Ugh, but that means fewer resources and less time for everyone else..." Madoka tries to console her for the frustration.

"Kyubey said I had a ton of potential!" Sayaka claims. "The most that I've ever had!"

"That doesn't mean you can neglect training." Homura retorts. "For now, just get with Kyouko and Mami."

Mami nods in agreement, "As flattered as I am, she's right. We can all do this together, so let's spend lots of time together!"

Kyouko also nods, "Yeah, yeah! This'll be fun. I mean..." She looks back at Sayaka and loses her enthusiasm for a split second "...we just...gotta keep her from becoming awitch, like last time!"

"And the time before that." Homura adds, then repeats it seven times before Sayaka stops her.

"Stop. I get it. Come on, it wasn't a bad wish, this time. I won't turn into a witch, I promise!"

"And what if Kyouko and Mami die?" Homura asks. "What if Madoka and I die? What if everyone dies? What if we lose and the whole world goes to hell in a handbasket?"

"At that point, I think becoming a witch will be the least of my problems." Sayaka admits.

"Whatever." Homura dismisses. "When that time comes, if I'm still alive, I'll be happy to show you mercy."

Everyone who was previously smiling, stops. They all awkwardly look at each other as they think about the implications of that statement.

"Anyways, let's go." Homura says, turning around and leading Madoka out, with her.

Madoka tries to protest, "H-Hey! Wait! I...! Sayaka...!"

Homura pats her along, "Don't. It'll just make everything harder." Madoka meekly gives in and follows her, at times looking back at the other three going back to being at least somewhat enthusiastic about being able to work together. They seem happy, so it's okay, she thinks.


	26. Shadow

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 26: Shadow**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -19-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **I SAW A CAT IN MY WINDOW, ONCE.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS RAINING, OUTSIDE.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS SLEEPING SOUNDLY, BUT I COULDN'T HELP BUT TO TAP ON THE GLASS.**

 ** **›**** **IT DIDN'T WAKE.**

 ** **›**** **MAYBE IT COULDN'T HEAR ME OVER THE SOUND OF THE RAIN TAPPING ON THE ROOF.**

 ** **›**** **I TAPPED AGAIN, BUT IT STILL DIDN'T WAKE.**

 ** **›**** **I TRIED TO OPEN THE WINDOW, BUT I WAS TOO WEAK.**

 ** **›**** **I KEPT TAPPING, BUT EVENTUALLY GAVE UP.**

 ** **›**** **I KEPT THAT CURTAIN CLOSED FOR A WHILE.**

 ** **›**** **WHEN I OPENED IT AGAIN, IT WAS THERE.**

 ** **›**** **THE CAT STILL SLEPT.**

 ** **›**** **I ALWAYS LOVED THE RAIN.**

 ** **›**** **IT CALMED ME WHEN I WAS SAD.**

 ** **›**** **I NEVER OPENED FOR THE SUN.**

 ** **›**** **BUT EVERY DAY, IT WAS THERE.**

 ** **›**** **MAYBE IT WAS THERE TO COMFORT ME.**

 ** **›**** **CAN CATS SENSE THAT?**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS ALWAYS THERE WHEN I LOOKED, SO MAYBE.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **MOM DIED, ONE DAY.**

 ** **›**** **I WAS SICK AGAIN.**

 ** **›**** **THEY STILL COULDN'T HELP BUT SAY THAT TO ME.**

 ** **›**** **IT NEVER RAINED THAT DAY.**

 ** **›**** **I NEVER OPENED FOR THE SUN.**

 ** **›**** **BUT THIS TIME, I DID.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS THERE AGAIN.**

 ** **›**** **I WAS HAPPY.**

 ** **›**** **I NAMED IT AFTER HER.**

 ** **›**** **SO WHY?**

 ** **›**** **I WANTED TO HOLD IT LIKE SHE DID.**

 ** **›**** **SO ONE DAY, I OPENED IT.**

 ** **›**** **I HELD IT IN MY HANDS.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS COLD.**

 ** **›**** **SO I HELD IT CLOSER.**

 ** **›**** **IF I COULD MAKE IT WARM, WOULD IT COME BACK?**

 ** **›**** **WHEN I THOUGHT THAT, ANOTHER CAT CAME AND SPOKE TO ME.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

"I told you not to come looking for me in the middle of the night." Homura tells Madoka, as she escorts the young girl home in the middle of a storm, both covered by an umbrella for two. She doesn't respond.

"You could really get hurt, you know. The witches are trying really hard in this loop, and I can't protect you very well while my hand is still regenerating." Homura continues.

"Sorry." Madoka meekly apologizes.

They arrive just a moment away from the front door. Homura sighs, "Just stay safe, okay? I have enough to worry about. I really can't afford any chances, this time."

Madoka nods along, looking down at the ground.

Homura gives her a quick hug, "Now go on, your parents are probably worried."

Madoka nods again. Without another word, Homura leaves. Madoka turns around and slowly marches towards the front door, breathing deeply.

Inside, Junko is sitting at the table in her pajamas, tapping the surface and taking periodic sips from a glass of some transparent alcohol. She's been gazing up at the wall and into space for at least half an hour, and her entire body ended up getting stiff despite her restless shuffling about in the chair.

"Where the _is_ that girl?" she wonders aloud. "It's the fourth time she's done this! Why won't she just call, or text, or something?"

Another minute passes with the rain beating against the glass doors. Junko glances outside and thinks, _"I hope she's at a friend's house and not in the rain. Didn't even take an umbrella... What is she thinking!?"_

Finally having enough after another minute passes, she gets up from her seat and pulls out her phone, about to dial Madoka's number. Then, she slowly turns around...

A silhouette in the doorway. Just outside the glass panes, something she can't quite make out. She takes one step closer to it, spying its flat, dead eyes that glow in the darkness. She approaches further, cautiously, her subconscious quickly taking over with something akin to imaginary, flashing memories.

The stormy sky cracks with thunder, the following lightning illuminating the silhouette. For a split second, it gives her pause. Surely, the silhouette is her daughter's, but the shadow which forms in front of her with that flash of light is an hourglass-shaped monstrosity towering over everything, covering her in an uneasing darkness far deeper than any normal shadow.

For a moment, she stands there in disbelief, with a powerful sense of nostalgia overcoming any relief or anger she could have felt. Not quite happily, but that which makes her stomach sink at the idea; something unthinkably horrible.

It felt like that moment had lasted an eternity. But as that single endless second somehow comes to pass, she can only make out the shape of Madoka standing before her, having come in on her own.

She can only stand, still overwhelmed by the alien, freezing atmosphere. Yet, she forces her words out, "Madoka, you—"

"I know." she immediately responds, as if having heard it a thousand times before.

Junko turns her head sharply as her daughter walks past, "You could have at least told me."

"I'm sorry," she says flatly, facing away, followed with a bit more feeling that she nearly chokes on "I had to see her."

Junko sighs, composure slowly returning as she pivots, "That doesn't mean you can just run off without asking."

Madoka is silent.

"How many times have you done this, so far?" Junko asks.

Madoka turns her head slightly.

"Five times. You've gone out late without telling anyone _five times_."

Madoka sighs, knowing what's about to happen, "Mom, please..."

Her mom's tone harshens, "I've never had to punish you, before. Don't make me start, now."

Madoka turns her head back, silent again.

A jolt of frustration runs through Junko. She's about to snap at her, but manages to hold back for her own good. Instead, she asks, "Who is she?"

Madoka takes a moment to answer, "...Homura."

Junko's tension lifts as she realizes what this may be about, "The one you keep talking about?"

Madoka nods.

Junko hums while pondering, _"Kids her age only do this sort of thing for that reason, don't they? I never thought it could be true, but..."_

She sighs in exasperation, "I get it."

Madoka suddenly looks back, a spark of hope being rekindled in her widened eyes.

As her mother passes by and gives her a quick hug, she tells her, "Why don't you invite her over? If you're going to get so involved with this girl, I'd like to at least get to know her."

The sudden shift in her mood leaves Madoka unable to properly say anything. The only thing she feels at that moment is simultaneous confusion and relief, perhaps joy.

Finally, she goes off to bed, "Now go, get in bed. We both have to get up early, remember?"

"You didn't have to stay up..." Madoka tries to argue, but her mom just walks away and waves.

By the time she gets to her bed, in which Tomohisa is already asleep, she can only chuckle and murmur, "Kids..." before collapsing onto the mattress and passing out in less than a minute.

Rain continues to patter on the window. More thunder follows. Eventually, the cascading oceans seep their way into her mind, and meld slowly into her dreams.

Rain continues to fall. But instead of being comforted by the sight, in the middle of a warm home, she instead stands on the edge of a railing as a great storm rages on above her.

She slowly turns her gaze up, dumbfounded by the sight before her: A massive black entity hovering in the sky, a doll spinning on an enormous gear. It's only when her senses finally come to that she finally hears its piercing hysterics that echo through the ruins of the once-great city.

The words simply fall out, "What...is that?"

A girl with long, black hair approaches from the side and answers her coldly, _"That..._ is a witch. _"_

Junko turns her head slowly, still shocked at the sight, "Homura?"

She can only barely recall the name, but it rings a familiar tune. Someone she once knew. But this didn't seem right. She had attached that name to someone — some idea, far more compassionate than the practical automaton she was looking at, now.

Homura continues, "I regret letting you see and know this much. Even allowing Madoka was too much. This is inexcusable."

"Where is she?" Junko nearly yells.

Homura closes her eyes for a moment, "Somewhere among the ruins, looking for me. If she is allowed to encounter this witch, she will surely throw her life away."

She can't respond with anything. No matter what feeling comes to mind, her words fail to manifest.

"This is why I fight." Homura adds. "Even if it costs me my life, protecting her will always be worth it. If I have to lose a hundred times to win once, then so be it."

Junko frowns in disbelief, "What are you talking about?"

Homura doesn't answer the question, "If you come upon her, take her back. This is my battle, and only mine. She cannot be allowed to die."

The word echoes through her head: "Die." And as if its mere existence gave will to the universe, itself, she finds herself standing in a place she never could have imagined herself in, before.

The witch is gone. It vanished in a bright flash of light, and now she stands in the flooded streets before the girl she knew as "Homura", kneeling on the ground. She slowly approaches, noticing that she's clutching something.

That sound she makes is familiar, yet foreign. A rare treasure. But "treasure" isn't the right word. Junko takes a few lanky steps forward before she recognizes the sound: Sobbing.

"Homura..." a weak voice comes from the thing she's holding. Junko can barely recognize it at first.

She comes a bit closer, and it finally starts to make sense. "It's okay." it says. She says.

She doesn't want to believe it. Doesn't want to see it. But it's here, in front of her. Though she looks down at the darkened face of the girl Homura is clutching, she isn't allowed to discern her identity. She stands, frozen, heart steadily sinking.

Homura apologizes to the girl, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

They embrace. The dying girl whispers something into Homura's ear. When they back away, she begins to break down into tears.

She lays the girl down in the water, slowly pulling what looks to be a gun out from under the shield, strapped on her arm.

Junko tries to call out to her, but fails in that moment when she is finally allowed to see her daughter's face, beaten and bloodied, clearly in pain, but somehow serene.

Homura places the gun to Madoka's chest. Madoka gently holds her arm, one hand over hers, one thumb over hers, over the trigger. Neither can help but cry.

Just before she can hear the gunshot ring through her head, everything fades. Reality falls apart, and the rain finally stops. Junko shoots up out of bed to find herself alone. In the background, she can hear the rest of her family clamoring over something unimportant.

She stars off into the distance absentmindedly, with only the morning sun and reflecting dew shining upon her. Her shock and confusion at the dream that felt more like a distant memory fades, just as it soon would, but into a sharp scowl of determination. And there, she leaps out of bed with before-unseen fervor.


	27. Fast Friends

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 27: Fast Friends**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1a-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPINESS IS?**

 ** **›**** **IT'S BRIGHT À!r såÂ+½åâ SUNSHINE.**

 ** **›**** **IT'S THE WARMTH OF t9¸«\5û ..**

 ** **›**** **IT'S w!]Æ¸ßÜ$ FOR BREAKFAST.**

 ** **›**** **IT'S HAVING YOUR ¾:? öcÍ‚7ì'Jè5 CALLED BY SOMEONE.**

 ** **›**** **IT'S CALLING SOMEONE'S ¾:? öcÍ‚7ì'Jè5.**

 ** **›**** **IT'S WHEN SOMEONE IS THINKING OF ƒúÖNqZT¾.**

 ** **›**** **BUT ƒúÖNqZT¾ HAVE NONE OF THESE THINGS.**

 ** **›**** **AS THAT DAY DESCENDS UPON ƒúÖNqZT¾, IT ALL FADES.**

 ** **›**** **EIN NARR.**

 ** **›**** **RUNNING AROUND IT, CIRCLING [EIN NARR] HEAVEN.**

 ** **›**** **HAVE [EIN NARR] LEGS BROKEN, YET?**

 ** **›**** **SURELY, [EIN NARR] WOULD CRAWL.**

 ** **›**** **ARE [EIN NARR] SPIRALING DOWN, OR UP?**

 ** **›**** **TOWARDS WHAT?**

 ** **›**** **THIS ILLUSION.**

 ** **›**** **BUT WE ARE ALL BLIND.**

 ** **›**** **I ONCE SPOKE A WORD THAT COULD BRING THOSE THINGS TO ME.**

 ** **›**** **BUT IT HAS LONG SINCE BEEN FORGOTTEN.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ƒúÖNqZT¾ WISH.**

* * *

The arcades in Mitakihara are packed, in the afternoon. The one in particular that Kyouko frequents is booming with activity, today. So much that Homura can't really tell if she's even in there, even though she's certain of the possibility.

After wading through the crowds of people and their deafening screams of excitement, she finally makes her way to the DDR machine in one corner, where she finds Kyouko leaning on the railing and watching as Sayaka does surprisingly well at the game.

Homura waits for a moment before she speaks up, "You two!"

Kyouko turns around, Sayaka merely glances and continues playing. "Oh, it's _you_." Kyouko rolls her eyes.

"Yes, it is _me_ , now would kindly tell _me_ what _you_ think you're doing?" Homura scolds them.

"Eh?" Kyouko groans, playing dumb.

Homura frowns (as if she weren't already), "You're supposed to be training."

"This _is_ training!" Kyouko insists.

Homura scoffs and raises her voice, "It's a _game_. We can't afford to be fucking around! You two are supposed to be out there, killing witches. Not playing DDR when we have two weeks before the entire city is destroyed!"

Kyouko throws her hands up, "Whoa! Calm down there, fire-head. Sometimes I think _my_ hairstyle would fit you better!"

Homura glares at her.

"Ah, whatever." Kyouko dismisses. "Look, there aren't endless witches to go around. Sometimes we have to take a break. Besides, being transformed constantly is a pretty big drain. Can't do it every day, all day, y'know? So..."

She presents the DDR machine as if it weren't already obvious, but Homura merely continues to glare.

Kyouko clears her throat, "What I'm saying is, training outside of that is also good! This thing's hard, you know. Gotta be fast, agile, and that's exactly how we have to be when we fight! So, I figured..."

"Sakura Kyouko." homura demands her attention.

"Ooh, last name!" Sayaka teases while dancing.

Kyouko rolls her eyes again, "What?"

"Quit making excuses for slacking off." she bluntly chides.

Kyouko groans, "Ugh, who do you think you are? My mom?"

Homura narrows her eyes. She knows the best comeback for that, immediately: _"No, she's dead."_ However, for the sake of being cordial, she refrains and stays silent.

"A-Anyways," Kyouko hastily changes the subject "I see you finally got your hand back."

Homura holds it up and gazes at it, "Mostly. It definitely feels new. It's still weak. Needs to develop before I can fire anything with it, again. It should be strong enough by Walpurgisnacht."

Sayaka finishes the song, finally. She immediately hops down to engage the two, "Done! So, what's up?"

"You're unusually energetic." Homura says.

"Got a bit of confidence boost." she admits. "But anyways, what's got you so uppity?"

Homura shakes her head, "What do you think? On top of all of this, Madoka wants me to meet her family. Or, _they_ want to meet _me._ "

"Oh, I remember my first time meeting her parents." Sayaka recalls. "You'll be _fiiiiiine_! Just don't piss her mom off. I remember one time..."

Homura tunes her out immediately. She instead addresses Kyouko once more, "Kyouko. Make sure she's ready. That girl won't forgive me if I allow this idiot to die."

Kyouko nods, "Hey, you're not the only one with a stake in this."

That almost makes Homura smile. "I'll be leaving, now. Take care." she excuses herself as she turns around, flips her hair, and walks away with an indescribable gait.

Meanwhile, Sayaka (who wasn't paying attention), finishes her story, "...And that's why I got banned from the Museum of Natural History!"

"Sayaka."

"Yeah?"

"She's gone."

And she is. Sayaka sighs in relief, "Oh, thank god. She's such a buzzkill."

"Right? Loosen up a bit." Kyouko agrees.

"She's about to," Sayaka claims "whether she likes it or not."

Kyouko chuckles as Sayaka jumps down from the machine. The two agree to go off and find the new cabinet they installed yesterday: A bullet hell game called Argalon.

"This should be good for you focus." Kyouko comments as she slides a coin in.

Sayaka steps up and starts playing, being surprisingly good at dodging the bullets despite how unbelievably fast it turns out to be.

Meanwhile, Kyouko continues, "You're a lot more fun when you're not brooding, you know? I kind of like it. How'd you do that, anyways?"

Sayaka speaks in monotone while mostly focused on the game, "Just the whole 'remember every time you died in your past lives' thing. It was sort of sobering."

"And you saw how those turned out. What happens when you contract..."

"Yeah."

"...and you still did it?"

Sayaka sighs, "This time is different. I made a different wish, knowing what I did. I'm over it. Besides, we're all probably dead, anyways. What with Kyubey's been saying..."

Kyouko's tone takes a hard edge, " **Fuck** Kyubey. He can go get genocided for all he's done. It's because of...!" She's about to blame him for something, but suddenly stops upon a silent realization. She quiets down some before continuing, "...Anyways, I guess I can get over it if this is really different from then. But I swear, if you go and witch out on me again, I will—"

Sayaka interrupts as her ship explodes, "Hey. _You're the reason that I did this._ "

It takes a second for Kyouko to parse what she just said, "...What?"

Sayaka slowly explains, "Well, every time I went down that...dark path, you ended up being the one to have sympathy for me. You always opened up to me. I don't really know why. Sympathy or something? Pity? It doesn't matter. It's because of the lessons you taught me that I decided what I really wanted to fight for."

She pauses the game and postures herself, turning towards Kyouko with a confident and earnest smile, "I want to see the real you. I want to see the real Mami. I want to see everyone smile again. I want to keep it that way, and protect what I care about. All because I know that no matter what, I will always have something or someone that I love."

Kyouko can't shake the surprise from her eyes, "What? You can't be serious... That's exactly the thing I wished for!"

"For you father to be happy, right? You wanted him to have followers so that he and your family would be happy. I'm wishing for strength to do the same for those I care about. Right?"

Kyouko nods, "Y-Yes, but...how can you be alright with that!? How is that okay when you know what's going to happen to you?"

Sayaka shakes her head, "Didn't I already say this? I'm different, now. I know more, and I can act a bit more like an adult. We're still just kids and all, but at least I know what I'm doing. I did this knowing what would happen because the alternative was worse. I think if I just stand by and do nothing, I'll just want kill myself anyways. So, I'm ready. If I make a mistake, I'm prepared to take responsibility for it. I have to."

Kyouko is at a loss for words. She makes a myriad of expressions ranging from frustration to anger, to worry and anguish, and even to some twisted form of joy. Her mind goes racing back to when she first met Mami, and how she was inspired in those early days be her philosophy. Back then, when her life was tolerable, when she had a family to go back to. Back to the speeches and proclomations of hope and justice that lifted her spirits, before the bitter end.

In the end, she can barely vocalize an argument. Instead, she simply asks, "But why?" in a last ditch effort to salvage some of her antisocial coping mechanism.

Sayaka shrugs and goes back to the game, "I just said it, didn't I? Everyone's got their life purpose. I guess this is mine. I'm okay with it."

Finally, she just gives up. Kyouko pats her on the shoulder and says, "You make my head hurt, you know?"

Sayaka chuckles at this.

A few minutes later, Kyouko mentions offhandedly as she stretches, "Let's go get lunch or something. I'm starving."

"What were you thinking?" Sayaka asks as she loses her last life.

"Nothing special. Just whatever."

Sayaka postures herself again, "Want to call Mami?"

Kyouko thinks on it. Something hits her mid-way, making her turn and start walking toward the exit, "On second thought, let's just pick something up. Ask what she wants."

Sayaka tilts her head, "What do you mean?"

Kyouko rests both hands behind her head, "I like to eat with family."

Sayaka stares at her for a moment. She shrugs and decides to just go along with it. She follows suit and takes her place alongside Kyouko while she pulls out her phone and dials Mami's number.

There were no troubles. That afternoon, they all sat together for a cheap, peaceful dinner.


	28. Nostalgia

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 28: Nostalgia**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1b-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **LOADING AUDIO TRANSCRIPT FROM 14151920112791_**

 ** **›**** **73%**

 ** **›**** **100%**

 ** **›**** **DONE.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **A: "SORRY, I TOOK TOO LONG."**

 ** **›**** **B: "IT'S OKAY! JUST COME OUT!"**

 ** **›**** **A: "ALRIGHT..."**

 ** **›**** **[SOUND OF CURTAINS RUFFLNG]**

 ** **›**** **A: "HOW IS IT?"**

 ** **›**** **B: "SO CUTE!"**

 ** **›**** **A: "YOU THINK SO?"**

 ** **›**** **B: "YOU LOOK AMAZING!"**

 ** **›**** **A: "YOU WOULD LOOK BETTER..."**

 ** **›**** **B: "OH, STOP! COME ON, LET'S BUY IT!"**

 ** **›**** **A: "ARE YOU SURE? IT'S..."**

 ** **›**** **B: "IT'S NOT TOO MUCH."**

 ** **›**** **A: "...IF YOU SAY SO."**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **END OF FILE.**

 ** **›**** **LOADING AUDIO TRANSCRIPT FROM 14151920112791_**

 ** **›**** **80%**

 ** **›**** **100%**

 ** **›**** **DONE.**

 ** **›**** **.** **..**

 ** **›**** **[SOUND OF HEAVY RAIN]**

 ** **›**** **A: "I'M SORRY... I'M SO SORRY..."**

 ** **›**** **B: "IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT..."**

 ** **›**** **A: "PLEASE...!"**

 ** **›**** **B: "DON'T. IT'S OKAY. I'M RIGHT HERE."**

 ** **›**** **[A BEGINS TO SOB]**

 ** **›**** **A: "I DIDN'T WANT THIS! I DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS!"**

 ** **›**** **B: "I KNOW. PLEASE, STOP. IT HURTS..."**

 ** **›**** **A: "I CAN'T DO IT!"**

 ** **›**** **B: "LISTEN..."**

 ** **›**** **[SOUND OF WHISPERING]**

 ** **›**** **A: "NO... NO!"**

 ** **›**** **B: "I'M RIGHT HERE. I'LL ALWAYS BE HERE. I'LL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU."**

 ** **›**** **A: "NO!"**

 ** **›**** **B: "PLEASE...COME HERE."**

 ** **›**** **[SILENCE, FOLLOWED BY 13 MINUTES OF RAIN AND QUIET SOBBING]**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **END OF FILE.**

 ** **›**** **CURIOUS MEMORIES, FOOD FOR THE SOUL.**

 ** **›**** **FOR THE COLLECTIVE, AND TO OBSERVE.**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS IT REMINDS ME OF MYSELF?**

 ** **›**** **WAS I EVER LIKE THEM?**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS.**

 ** **›**** **ONCE UPON A TIME.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

" _I'm really doing this, aren't I?"_ Homura thinks to herself as Madoka escorts her to her home, both in relatively casual attire. None too flashy, but more literally so in Homura's case where it's mainly all black — opposite of Madoka's, which is dominantly tan and pale pink.

"Don't worry." says Madoka, looking over with a smile she hasn't worn in a week. "They'll like you. I know it." she adds, confidently.

Homura nods, relenting to her optimism, "If you say so."

Madoka reminds her, "And don't go worrying about the others or the witches. This is just a normal night, okay?"

Indeed, night had just about fallen, already. Well, sunset would be more accurate than night. She didn't want to set it any later for fear that her mother would go out and get drunk, thinking she had some time to kill, and not make it.

In short order, they arrive. Madoka leads the increasingly nervous Homura up and to the door, where they head in and see the whole rest of the family there to greet them.

Tomohisa — who's holding Tatsuya — speaks up first, "Homura, right? Good to see she made some new friends despite everything!"

Homura confirms with a light bow and quaint smile, despite the cold on her back, "Yes, Akemi Homura. _Salutations,_ Mr. Kaname."

They shake hands, and he dismisses the propriety, "No need for all of that, we're not stuck up rich people, or anything. Just call me Tomohisa."

Tatsuya reaches out and tries to grab at her, but can't quite reach. Tomohisa adds, "Oh, and this is Tatsuya." He ruffles the kid's hair and tells him, "Say 'hi', don't pull on her hair!"

Instead of saying "hi", he blabbers something incomprehensible and thrashes around excitedly. While his dad tries to calm him down, Homura can't help but lose her composure and crack a held-back grin. In an instant, her dignified air stagnates.

But soon, it starts up again and becomes tense when she glances over at Junko and prepares for an introduction, only to be faced with the woman staring at her intensely like she had just seen a ghost.

Madoka approaches her, "Mom? You okay?"

Junko snaps out of her daze, "Eh? Oh, yeah. Just..." She stares back at Homura and walks up to her, "Have we...met before?"

Homura's entire body freezes. _"Not now,"_ she internally panics _"don't tell me this is happening right now, of all times!"_

Tomohisa catches wind, too, "Hey... Now that you mention it, it does seem like that. She's really familiar."

"Yes..." Junko hums ponderously. Eventually she gives up, "Oh, it doesn't matter. What's important is that we're all here, and dinner is ready!"

Everyone agrees, and the tension evaporates immediately. Homura sighs with relief. Junko does a quick introduction, "And it's Junko. Good to finally meet you." They shake hands as well, and everyone proceeds to sit down for dinner.

Of course it would be something simple-yet-flashy. A steak dinner, with rice and vegetables instead of the usual sides. Somewhat western, and hardly looks like it was made and garnished by a master chef. However, it loses that in favor of some homely quality that Homura can't quite recognize. Even if she can't, she still grins fondly upon bearing witness to it.

Madoka takes a seat beside Homura, and the two parents sit across from them while Tatsuya is in a high-chair, being assisted by Tomohisa. Conversation immediately picks up after they say thanks.

Junko starts, "So, Madoka talks about you a lot."

"Ah, does she?" Homura asks.

"A lot." Junko reaffirms. "I didn't expect you to be her type." she comments, starting on the steak.

Homura nearly chokes on her own food when she hears that. "What?" she asks.

Junko explains, "Well, she always got along with the happy, energetic type, like Sayaka. You're more like a traditional beauty. You seem like the complete opposite of her."

Homura practically shrugs, "I suppose so." She goes back to eating.

Junko chuckles, "Not a talker, huh?"

Homura shakes her head.

"That's fine. Though, I get the feeling that you're actually a completely different person when nobody is looking."

Both Madoka and Homura take notice of that, stopping to stare at her.

Nobody says anything, but Junko knows, "Did I hit the nail on the head?"

Madoka interrupts, "Mom, isn't it a little rude to drill her like this?"

Junko chuckles again, "Ah, you're right! I guess I'm just used to business dinners like that!"

Homura isn't amused as she thinks, _"Just what kind of business needs that sort of aggression?"_ Despite this, she shakes her head and dismisses it, "It's fine. I don't mind all that much."

"Hey," Junko says rather seriously, but quickly switches to a carefree tone "you're too polite! Go ahead and sit back a little, we won't judge!"

"Eh?" Homura looks surprised, posturing herself even more.

"As long as you and Madoka are friends, you're part of our family, got that?" she proclaims with a pointed finger. "Don't go acting like a doormat just to be proper. People will walk all over you!"

"Part of...?" Homura trails off, still with her thousand-yard stare.

"Mom..." Madoka sighs, about to interrupt again. She need not do so, as a small slice of steak goes flying across the table and hits Junko in the cheek while Tomohisa yells.

"Eh?" Junko grunts as she slowly picks it up.

"Tatsuya, no!" Tomohisa yells as the kid blabbers and screams, still thrashing about with excitement.

"Tatsuyaaaa!" Madoka follows, getting up to help settle him down. Meanwhile, Junko can't help but laugh at the sight.

With the commotion around her fading out of focus, and everything around her carrying on normally, Homura simply takes a moment to recollect.

" _Madoka's mother and father. Junko and Tomohisa. I already knew their names, but it would be strange to show that at our apparent first meeting. No, I remember them well. I haven't approached them in so long. When was the last time? I can't remember. All I have are the vague memories of the first year. They knew me, then, as that frail and worthless recovering patient, or a bumbling mess of a girl. Yet, every time, no matter how much of a burden, they always accepted me. They always said the same thing, 'If you're her friend...' This is where she gets that kindness from, isn't it? I know. I knew. I always knew. They're such wonderful people, after all."_

" _But I'm sorry, that girl is gone. I am all that remains of that past. Nothing like it, but from it. I hold all of those memories. I don't know why I accepted coming here. I know how it will all end. I know it is only temporary, but I came anyways. Why? Do I just love to suffer that much? Maybe..."_

" _Did I just want to see them again? The closest things I've ever had to parents. Surrogates. Is that the right word? Sometimes, I want to speak those words. I can't. I once could, but now I have no excuse. Too hasty. Inappropriate. They'll see right through me. Could they already? I don't know."_

She shakes her head, _"Am I just thinking too hard? Maybe. But this..."_

She looks up at the family, all sitting together after calming the kid down and eating, chatting with each other. A normal, happy family. As she looks around at them, she can't help but smile again. Not as wide, but just as natural.

" _If this moment could go on forever..."_ she ponders, looking down _"I wish. I wish this dream could never end. I wish I could sit here with them and never have to worry about that waking nightmare, ever again."_

She stares down at her hand, focusing on her soul gem on her ring, which begins to glow faintly.

" _I could..."_ Her mind begins to wander as she caresses it gently. _"To capture this moment and frame it, I think I could stop time right now, and never let go..."_

It shines brighter and brighter, but the others are too busy with themselves to notice. As she closes her eyes...

Something hard and vaguely damp hits her in the side of the head, knocking her out of her mind.

The others shoot their gazes at her, then at Tatsuya, who is screaming again. Homura opens her eyes and observes: The kid flipped his entire plate — plastic, thank god — and hit her directly in the head, which is now covered in food and steak sauce.

Junko and Tatsuya finally get mad and start scolding Tatsuya while Madoka gets up and tends to Homura, "Uh...Homura, are you okay!?"

She has her head hung down, hair mostly covering it, silent.

"Homura, it's okay, it's just a bit of food,you—" Madoka starts to console, but a sudden sound from Homura stops her. She starts to smile even wider than before, her tiny grunts turning into a chuckle.

"Homura?" Madoka asks.

Homura raises her head up and breaks out into a full-blown laugh, quickly evolving into hysterics as she pounds her fist on the table. Her expression reads the most perplexing brand of joy Madoka's ever seen, and it catches the attention of everyone else as well. The whole table falls silent besides Homura laughing hard enough to lose her breath for a second.

Madoka goes from concern to confusion, mixed with relief. As she stares, she thinks, _"I don't think I've seen her this happy, before, but..."_ In that moment, she thinks she can see tears running down Homura's cheeks.

Finally, after catching her breath, Homura dismisses it, "It's okay! I'm okay. Don't worry about me." And just like that, her tone went from completely monotonous and eloquent to more casual than she's ever shown herself to be. As if that plate had knocked some of the seriousness out of her.

"But...!" Madoka argues, unconvinced.

"I said it's okay." Homura insists, but nicely.

Junko speaks up, "Well, we can't have you just sitting like that, or worse: leaving!"

Homura laughs and waves her hand as Madoka picks rice and vegetables out of her hair, "No, really, I'm okay. It's not necessary."

Junko _also_ insists, "Oh, no you don't. I said not to be a doormat, right? You can use our bathroom to wash that out, come on."

"Ah, wait..." Homura tries and fails to stop her before getting pushed and pulled by both of them, towards the bathroom.

Her time in their company passes as listlessly as it started. For her, in comparison to her lonesome life of the usual, it's chaotic. Not the bad kind, but something she doesn't mind. Perhaps kings grow tired of seeing their treasuries of gold every day, but to a commoner, it is the most astounding sight they will ever witness.

After dinner and washing, they all entertain each other with games that can only be described as silly and inconsequential. Despite their nature, Homura manages to find enjoyment in the company. She dismisses her earlier contemplation as being selfish and stupid, and simply forgets about everything else in the world besides them. Just like Madoka told her to do. But of course, like seeing a beautiful monument, happy times are momentary and always come to pass.

As the Kanames wave goodbye to Homura while she puts her shoes back on, Junko tells her, "Come by again, sometime, alright? Maybe spend the night!"

Homura stands up and pauses. She looks back at the four and notices Madoka. She looks so much happier than she has for the past week. More than this entire loop, really. Almost overwhelmingly so. Almost like...

" _...forcing it?"_ she wonders. With that thought, her own smile slowly fades. She remembers the date at that moment, _"...13 days. 13 days left."_

She averts her gaze and drops her joyful demeanor for just long enough to let everyone notice. Before they can say anything, Homura sighs and smiles. She gives it a quick thought before replying, "Of course. I'll definitely see you all again!" Madoka had expected her to lie, but she somehow couldn't sense any hint of dishonesty in Homura's answer.

Without another word, she leaves. As soon as she's gone, Junko turns to her daughter and asks, "Does she have any parents?"

Madoka shakes her head.

As Homura turns her back to them and descends the stairs, her smile solidifies, even as tears drip off of her face.

She repeats, "I'll see you again..."


	29. Hysteria

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 29: Hysteria**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1c-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **WHEN I GAZE INTO THE SKY, I WITNESS BEFORE MY EYES THE COALESCENCE OF MYRIAD STARS, CLOUDED BY MY CORRUPT FORM.**

 ** **›**** **EACH TWINKLE BRINGS TO LIFE AN ANXIOUS FEAR WITHIN SOME PORTION OF MY WHOLE.**

 ** **›**** **AS IF SOME UNWITTING UNIQUE SOUL HAD SHOWN A GLARING LIGHT INTO ITS EYES, BUT IT LOOKED AWAY IN DISGUST AT WHAT IT SAW.**

 ** **›**** **I COULD NOT HELP BUT TELL THAT INTRIGUING PERSON ABOUT THAT SINGLE BLACK UNIVERSE WHERE WE LIVE.**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS THERE WAS SOME SOLACE IN THE CLOSING OF ITS EARS AND EYES.**

 ** **›**** **SOME REASSURANCE THAT WITHOUT A DOUBT, THERE WAS EVIL IN THIS COLD, DARK PLACE.**

 ** **›**** **BUT AS I GAZED UPON THE ABYSS, I FOUND NOTHING STARING BACK.**

 ** **›**** **AND WITHIN THAT, I FOUND ONLY AN EMPTY SENSE OF IMPENDING DREAD.**

 ** **›**** **UNNATURAL AND YEARNING AS I FOUND IT, I COULD NOT HELP BUT SHIVER IN BELATED DELIGHT WHILE ITS NULLIFYING MASS EMBRACED ME.**

 ** **›**** **AND MY VERY SOUL WAS PLUNGED INTO A COMFORTING COLD.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

10 days until Walpurgisnacht. This is the first thing Homura notices when she wakes up, one morning. The past few days had been hectic, with only brief pauses of peace. Of course, she prepares for the former, as always. One dull morning routine and a cup of coffee later, she prepares to head out for the day when she notices something off about her neighbors.

There had been some commotion going on before she left the apartment, but she just dismissed it as couples arguing, again. It was no such thing. Instead, she comes upon a tower of luggage in a nearby doorway as the young couple residing in the apartment fuss over what to take with them and how quickly to get out.

"This has never happened, before..."Homura ponders. But it's not only them. It seems that most of the apartment doors have been left slung open and some with more luggage piled around them; it's almost impossible to navigate around them. A cursory look inside any room reveals how hastily they had been vacated, with much of the furniture still left over but no owners or prized possessions in sight.

"Okay..." Homura sighs, her stress veins starting to show "...guess I'll ask the others."

And so she retreats back to her room. There, she takes note that her phone has given an alert: School is called off due to...social disaster? Something along those lines. She calls Madoka first.

"Yeah, it's really freaky..." she answers upon the question "Our neighbors got all jumpy recently, and now they're packing their things. A few others are doing it. Mom and dad started acting weird, too. But, they got over it pretty quickly. Mom says she's sure that everyone is just overreacting." In the background, the TV can be heard on a news broadcast.

Homura frowns, "Alright. Thank you. That's all I—"

Madoka interrupts, "Homura, everything's going to be alright, isn't it?"

Homura can't answer. She knows the probable outcome, but she can't bring herself to tell her the truth after everything that's happened. For now, she settles on, "I don't know."

A silence ensues. Eventually, Madoka suggests, "Okay. Well, you may want to turn to the news."

Homura just goes along with it, "I will. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay."

They both hang up. Homura immediately dials Mami's phone.

"Ah, Ms. Akemi, is that you?"

Homura rolls her eyes, "You _know_ it is."

"Just checking. What's wrong?"

Homura repeats the question, "It looks like the people in the city are going a little crazy. What does it look like on your end? Any weird occurences?"

Mami sounds surprised, "Have you _seen_ the news over the past couple of days?"

Homura rolls her eyes again, "So same answer as Madoka, then?"

"What? I don't—"

Homura hangs up. "Useless..." she mutters. She then proceeds to dial Sayaka, who gives a similar answer, then Kyouko who elaborates a bit more.

"Yeah, weird shit's going down!" she says as a flood of background noise garbles her speech.

Homura shouts at the phone, "What is that noise!? I can barely hear you!"

"It's these damn mobs! They keep barging into the shops and buying everything in sight!" Kyouko explains, getting shoved around by them. "Oh well," she begins to admit "at least it's easier to steal shit!"

"Mobs? Did this happen overnight, or something?" Homura asks, mostly to herself.

Regardless, Kyouko answers, "Pretty much! Hey, you better hurry if there's anything you might even vaguely want; it'll be gone before you know it! I haven't seen crowds this bad since I watched that Black Friday footage! You know, the one where that guy died."

"Sounds horrible." Homura says in monotone as she promptly hangs up. With nobody else to contact, she sits back in her computer chair and starts searching for some sort of news article or video on the...

"BREAKING: Mass Hysteria in Mitakihara" as one video's title bluntly puts it. She starts the video.

"The entire city of Mitakihara was shaken to its core in a single day, with the occurence of a mass epiphany." the disembodied female voice of the reporter says over footage of Mitakihara before and after the mobs formed.

"In what people are calling a 'vision from the future', the city's population has reported knowledge of a catastrophic natural disaster that will occur within two weeks' time."

Footage of rallies with spokespeople preaching to the mobs is shown, "The mobs we see in this video, taken by an undercover reporter, are one of two major schisms that have emerged within the past two days. Believing the visions to be true, they have begun to evacuate the city en masse, taking everything they can on the way out."

Images flash by of markets and corner shops being loaded with people, and then nearly barren afterwards. Cars flooding into gas and recharge stations, highways and intersections backed up with traffic for hours, "This mass panic has caused great trouble for both the local government and nay-saying residents alike."

The city's governor, a typical-looking old guy, is seen giving a speech on a podium while the report continues, "Although political officials have urged people that this event is simply a mass hallucination and that the city's storm shelter is perfectly safe, many protestors have denied this and predict the oncoming disaster to cause damages on a level that is, quote, 'Beyond catastrophic.'"

Generic footage of storms and hurricanes from past events is played, followed by generic footage of scientists at work, "Meanwhile, the prefecture's climate scientists are actively surveying and researching the possibility of this prediction becoming reality. Currently, there is no conclusive evidence that a natural disaster of such a scale is set to occur at any point in the near future. Scientists urge people to stay put until a consensus is reached."

Previously shown footage is repeated and recapped in the last part as the reporter signs off, stating that they will be actively covering the situation as it develops. Homura tunes out around that time and lays her phone down.

She rests her forehead in her hands and sighs with exasperation, "This is too much. These...idiots."

But with little else to do about it, she prepares for an otherwise normal routine. Whatever this panic is about, she isn't part of it. If the population knows Walpurgisnacht is coming, perhaps it's better if they all leave. Whatever they do, it's too late for her to take advantage of it. In her head, she recounts the number of grief seeds they have versus how many they need for the coming storm. Still a dozen or so short. She curses herself as she looks down at her still-recovering hand.

" _This next week will be long and tiring."_ she tells herself.


	30. Preparation

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 30: Preparation**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1d-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **HIS EYES BEAT LIKE A THROBBING, LIVING HEART, WITH A RED HEAT THAT SCORCHED MY PUPILS.**

 ** **›**** **AND AS I LOOKED UPON MY FATE, STARING IT IN THE FACE WITH THE WILL OF A SHEEPISH KITTEN, A BALLERINA STRODE INTO VIEW.**

 ** **›**** **ALL WAS LAID BEFORE ME AS RIBBONS OF BLACK, TATTERED AND DAMP, WERE LACED UPON THE GROUND IN ONE BRIEF MOMENT.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS AS IF A BLUR; A FLURRY OF INDECIPHERABLE AND INTERPRETIVE GESTURES.**

 ** **›**** **AND THE GIRL BEFORE ME DANCED LIKE A MAD DEMON, EVEN LOSING HER SHAPE TO THE WILL OF THE SLAUGHTER.**

 ** **›**** **BEFORE MY HORROR CAME A DEEP REGRET, TO HAVE NEVER STUMBLED UPON THIS WRETCHED HIDDEN WORLD.**

 ** **›**** **BUT BEFORE I KNEW, I WAS TRAPPED IN A CYCLE OF ENDLESS AGONY.**

 ** **›**** **AND IT WAS THEN THAT I HAD REALIZED WHY SHE DANCED AS SHE DID.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS NOT FOR JOY, BECAUSE SHE WISHED TO; BUT BECAUSE SHE MUST.**

 ** **›**** **THE BLACK BLOOD WHICH PAINTED HER WITH THE HISTORICAL RECORDS OF COLDHEARTED MURDER ENGRAVED IN THEIR TWIN SOULS HAD STAINED EVEN THE AIR WHICH WE BREATHED.**

 ** **›**** **AND I WAS FORCED TO INHALE IT DEEPLY, SO THAT I TOO WAS CORRUPTED.**

 ** **›**** **THE SWEET RELEASE HAD CALLED ME, BUT I WAS TOO STUBBORN TO ANSWER.**

 ** **›**** **PERHAPS TOO AFRAID OF HOW MUCH I WOULD BEGIN TO LOVE.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO I CONFINED MYSELF TO THE ABYSS, SELF-ENRAPTURED IN THE ENDLESS TORMENT OF SOLITUDE.**

 ** **›**** **JUST AS FATE HAD ALWAYS INTENDED.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

April 29th. Only days before Walpurgisnacht's arrival. In the midst of preparation, Homura addresses the rest of the crew in her apartment, in front of a projection of their battle plan, "And so as you can see the ordiance I've acquired should act as an adequate damage method. Mami, your job will be to distract it with artillery. Kyouko, you and Sayaka will take out the familiars. Any questions?"

Sayaka surprisingly stands up, "What are the chances we actually beat this thing?"

"Can't say. But in the event that we fail and are not killed, I also have an emergency escape plan where we rig a minivan with enough supplies to last us a couple of weeks." Homura answers.

Mami asks next, "What if we run into that monster?"

"Run:" Homura bluntly states "create an opening if we can, and run. For that matter, how is that new technique you were working on to combat them?"

"The magic cannon?" Mami asks rhetorically. "It's ready. Not tested, but ready. We should only use it as a last resort."

"Great. And our grief seed stocks?" Homura follows up.

All three look at each other worriedly for a moment of silence before Mami answers, "About 10 for the battle, a few for the road if we don't win. We were set back quite a bit by your injury."

Homura sighs, "...Okay. It's not a problem, we just need to be extra careful and conservative. No flashy moves. And what about the girl? Where is she going to be for all of this?"

"Nagisa? With Ms. Kaname, at the storm shelter." Mami answers.

Homura nods, "Good. Keep them as far from the battle as possible. And from Kyubey. He says it's too dangerous to contract Madoka, but I don't trust him."

Before Homura can go on a rant, Sayaka stands again, "Speaking...of madoka!"

Homura glares at her.

"Er, well, speaking of her, she won't talk to us."

" **What?** " Homura barks at her.

"It's not our fault," Sayaka argues "she just got super depressed all of the sudden and won't come out of her room unless you talk to her! If anything, it's your fault!"

Homura raises her voice and an eyebrow, "And _when_ were you planning on telling me this?"

"Well..." Sayaka tries to explain.

Homura scolds her preemptively, "I swear, if you weren't her best friend, I'd have half a mind to kill your just for being this much of a dolt."

Sayaka sits down and rolls her eyes, "We're never going to be friends, are we?"

"You blew that chance about 95 timelines ago." Homura coldly states. "But whatever. I'm going to fix this immediately, so everyone out."

And as she escorts the girls out, Kyouko complain, "Finally! This place was starting to give me a headache."

Instead of listening, Homura shoves them out and locks the door behind her. Everyone goes their separate ways to prepare for the coming battle while Homura tends to her most pressing issue.

Half an hour later. Late afternoon, sunset.

"You're here." Junko says as she answers the door, staring studiously at Homura as if she had seen a ghost.

"She's in her room, right?" Homura asks quietly, paying no attention.

"Just upstairs—"

Before she can finish, Homura has already walked past her and upstairs. In not time, she's knocking on Madoka's bedroom door. "It's me." she says.

It takes a minute, but the door eventually cracks open. Homura waits for a second before she enters the nearly pitch black, stagnant, and desaturated room. Madoka is curled up in bed with all of her plushies pulled off the shelves and surrounding her bed, each occupying its own chair, of which there are too many. She, herself, is grasping her favorite stuffed rabbit. The window is shut tightly and covered, letting none of dusk's light in.

Homura sighs heavily, "...Okay..." and carefully steps around the chairs to sit next to her. They sit in awkward silence for a solid minute before Homura finally forces out, "What's wrong?" in the least empathetic tone should could have used.

Madoka takes a little while to respond, and even then is barely audible, "I'm sorry."

" _What?_ " Homura asks in confusion.

"I'm sorry." she repeats. "...For everything."

Homura's initial frustration quickly evolves into anxiety. Cautiously, she asks, "What...are you talking about?"

Madoka rises from under the covers to reveal her tear-stained face, worsening the anxiety. Slowly, she wraps her arms around Homura and begins stroking her hair. She panics at first, but eventually lets Madoka continue. And she does, still slowly braiding Homura's hair in silence. Finally, she whispers, "I remember everything." At the very moment where Homura realizes what she means, she pushes Madoka away and lets the braid fall loose.

Madoka sits back in shock, "Homura...!?"

"What is this?"

Madoka hesitates to speak.

Homura repeats, more aggressively, "What is this!?"

Madoka flinches, "I'm sorry. I was lying about how much I knew. I didn't want anyone to worry. I...remember who you used to be. No, who you _are._ And I know everything we've been through together. How much you've been hurt, and how much you changed each time. It's... It's almost like yesterday, we were just normal friends, having fun together, always together; and today, we're practically strangers despite everything."

She holds Homura tightly, beginning to cry again, "It's too much. It's just too much! I don't know what to do, anymore! Every time, I've always just been a burden. I made everything harder for you. I've been a horrible friend, even though you were always there for me and never gave up! If..." she begins to whisper to herself "...if I never existed, you wouldn't—"

Homura slaps her instantly, "Don't you _ever_ say that about yourself again!" she nearly screams, losing her composure in the process.

Madoka stops sobbing for a moment to register what just happened. In that time, Homura restates, "Don't say that again. Don't even think about it. If you remember everything from that far back, you should know that I hate when you put yourself down, like that."

"It's still true." Madoka says under her breath.

Homura grits her teeth and clenches her fist almost to the point of bleeding, but can't speak. She knows it's technically true, but the alternative is no better. She ends up standing around long enough for Madoka to grab her again.

"I don't know what to do." she says. "I don't even know who or what I'm supposed to be, anymore. No matter what, I'm always causing problems for people. Human, Magical Girl, Witch, maybe even Goddess. It doesn't matter, there's always something I do wrong."

They stand in silence again as Homura holds back crying, herself. It feels like an eternity. In the end, she gives a non-answer, "It doesn't matter. We can't afford to be getting emotional right now. We need to think about survival before we can think about feelings."

Madoka looks down, disappointed. Homura grabs her by the shoulders again and assures her, "Listen. I hate this just as much as you, but it can't be helped. Please, just do as I say and everything will be okay."

"You're lying." Madoka states as a matter of fact that Homura doesn't want to accept.

Homura hesitates, "Just... Madoka, please, just let me protect you!"

"And who's going to protect you? And the person protecting them, and them, and them?" Madoka asks.

With each word biting into her, Homura can barely find anything good to respond with. She simply dismisses herself, "...I'm sorry. I can't do this, right now. Please, don't worry about me. Just stay safe."

Madoka sighs as she's given a tight and somehow hesitant hug, "...Okay..."

Without another word, Homura exits the house as quickly as humanly possible, then promptly collapses against one of the house's walls in mental exhaustion. There, she screams into her palms and walks back home.


	31. WALPURGISNACHT

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 31: WALPURGISNACHT**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1e-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **THE APEX.**

 ** **›**** **THE CONVERGENT POINT AT WHICH ALL THINGS REACH THEIR FINALITY.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONE CONSTRUCTED THE SHAPES OF ANCIENT LEGENDS, THEY COULD RESEMBLE PYRAMIDS.**

 ** **›**** **THAT POINT IS NOT A SINGULARITY, BUT A CONGLOMERATION.**

 ** **›**** **EACH LINE CONTINUES PAST ITS INTERSECTION AND CREATES A NEW PYRAMID.**

 ** **›**** **TO REVERSE THIS IS TO CREATE ONE AND INVERT ITS ORIENTATION.**

 ** **›**** **AND WITH THIS CONCENTRATION COMES THE INEVITABLE INCREASE IN EVENTUAL CONVERGANCE.**

 ** **›**** **CHAOS INCREASES.**

 ** **›**** **ALL CHAOS SETTLES EVENTUALLY ON ORDER.**

 ** **›**** **ALL ENTROPY SETTLES ON EQUILIBRIUM.**

 ** **›**** **ALL POINTS COME TO ONE, AND THE CYCLE REPEATS.**

 ** **›**** **AT WHAT POINT DO THEY BEND?**

 ** **›**** **WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?**

 ** **›**** **ALL WHICH INVADES MY VISION IS A FOREST OF RED STRINGS.**

 ** **›**** **I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY WILL CREATE.**

 ** **›**** **.** **..**

 ** **›**** **THE SHAPE HARDLY MATTERS.**

 ** **›**** **THOUGH THEY PRETEND, THEY WILL NEVER TRULY TOUCH.**

 ** **›**** **ALL MERELY THE COALESCENCE OF SMALLER THINGS, WHICH PROCEED INDEFINITELY UNTIL THEY BECOME INCOMPREHENSIBLE IN THEIR SCALE.**

 ** **›**** **AND IN EVERY LAYER LACKS THE PROOF OF CONNECTION.**

 ** **›**** **AS IF THEY WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE.**

 ** **›**** **WHAT CRUEL MACHINE COULD HAVE CONSTRUCTED THIS?**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

The sirens are blaring. A monotone voice comes over the loudspeakers around the city, "A disaster warning is in effect. Please evacuate to the nearest storm shelter..."

As it drones in the background, the Holy Quartet stands at the edge of the eye of the dark storm, on a balcony overlooking the city's center. Homura stands at the forefront, stepping out among them to deliver her rousing speech...

"We're all going to die."

Sayaka blurts out, "Seriously!?"

"Not finished." Homura corrects. "Yes, there is a good chance that we will if we don't stick to the plan. It's honestly a miracle we all survived this long, and it looks like it's going to be the last chance we get to succeed. In other words, failure is not an option. We have more strength now than we've ever had in any previous timeline. Even if we do die, it doesn't mean we have to fail. As long as Walpurgisnacht falls, every sacrifice will be worth it. Remember what we're protecting: Friends, family, loved ones, innocent lives... None of them deserve to die, and we are those who were made to take that burden for them. **We are magical girls!** "

"Woo!" Mami yips excitedly while applauding. The other two stare at her like she's crazy.

"At least she gets it!" Homura compliments. "Now let's kill a witch!"

And she turns around to face the eye of the storm again. The others step forward alongside her.

Sayaka speaks, "If I don't make it out, tell Madoka not to cry for me."

Homura replies, "Refreshingly noble."

Kyouko adds to it, "If she dies, I'm kicking both of your asses after this."

Mami is next, "If I die, please take care of Nagisa for me."

"Which one of us?" Sayaka asks.

"Whoever's alive, really."

Homura interrupts, "Everyone done? It's here."

They all look forward as the curtain rises on their final hour. An enormous gear materializes in the sky and clicks into place, igniting skybound rubble and conjuring forth a veritable tidal wave of vibrantly animated familiars that stampede across the broken remains of the city. Horrid laughter fills the streets and resounds around the city.

Each of the girls steps forward at once, bursting into an array of colors as they transform in turn. At the end of their sequence, each brandishes their weapons.

" **Now!** " Homura commands. And like that, each splits. Kyouko and Sayaka take flanks and begin chopping down every brightly colored object in their path en masse. Meanwhile, Homura disappears in an instant, and the only thing left behind is a mountain of discarded rocket launchers. Before anyone knows what's happening, at least a hundred rockets all pelt Walpurgis directly in the face, sending it flying a block back. And yet, it laughs at her effort.

Mami, shocked by the sudden barrage of explosions, hesitates for just a moment before leaping into action. While Homura circles around the area and peppers it with mortars and missiles, Mami swings between intact buildings and sets off Finale after Finale, in such a quick and precise rhythm that the resulting impacts are literally music to their ears.

Each barrage makes Walpurgis bounce from point A to point B so rapidly that it can hardly counterattack under the intense pressure. All it can do in the face of their unrelenting onslaught is strike with more and more shadowy visages of corrupted magical girls and other witches. Each of them is quickly cut down by either Sayaka, protecting Mami; or Kyouko, protecting Homura.

As she swings between buildings, Mami notices something incredibly loud in the distance. A bright streak in the sky. "Is that...?" she wonders, only to be answered by Homura.

" **Get down!** " she screams at them all. They all notice it now, and gather at the top of a skyscraper to watch the fireworks. As Walpurgisnacht rises from its beating, it's struck directly by a massive, continental missile from high in the sky, smashing it into the ground where it explodes and sends it flying back a mile into a baseball stadium. Homura clicks a detonator, and the entire stadium lights up red with the telltale signs of plastic explosives before violently erupting into a sea of fire that shoots columns of smoke and ash into the air. The entire ordeal leaves behind two giant craters where streets and homes used to be.

While it's still down, Homura hands everyone a grief seed, "Recharge! It's not over!"

"It's still not dead!?" Sayaka asks exasperatedly.

"Shit..." Kyouko explicates.

They all purify their gems and prepare for round two. Homura briefs them, "Alright, I have another bomb set up at the edge of the city, in that abandoned latex factory! Nuclear, but low yield, just push it there and get out so I can blow it to pieces! Everyone got it?"

" **Nuclear!?** " Sayaka yells.

Homura counts down, "Three, two, one-!"

But before she can finish, a massive black spike shoots her in the arm and flings her off of the building! It bursts, revealing a batch of familiars that all simultaneously begin harassing the girls. Mami flinches at the sight, but quickly springs from the building after her, producing a net of ribbons that capture her and allow Mami to grab her while she swings around the building.

Meanwhile, Sayaka and Kyouko stand back to back and chop up the platoon of familiars that have swarmed them. So focused are they that they barely notice when Walpurgisnacht rises from below, covered in smoke and fire! When they turn around, their entire view is filled with its gaping maw.

Instinctively, Sayaka leaps out in front of Kyouko and guards her with her new shield, "Get behind me!"

"You're not ready!" Kyouko insists.

"Like hell!" Sayaka defies as she focuses her magic into the shield, lifting a massive, wondrous barrier around the two. Just a moment later, Walpurgis spews forth a gout of polychromatic flames that arcs against the barrier, deflected back at it to no real effect. Sayala struggles heartily, but holds it up just long enough for Mami to come back around and blast it in the side with a Tiro Finale at least three times larger than herself!

As sayaka nearly collapses in relief, Kyouko catches her, "Hey, no time to rest! I know you can keep going!"

Sayaka chuckles, "Yeah, let's go 'till we can't move!"

Kyouko smirks, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

And the two leap from the building, chasing after Walpurgis as it flies away and beating off everything in their way like an unstoppable force of nature.

After dealing with that, Mami swings down to ground level and drops Homura off, who tells her, "Force it back! Use as much magic as you need!" She throws her another seed.

Mami nods, "You'll be okay?"

"Don't worry about me! I'm going to get the escape vehicle ready, but I'll be back to get you all away from the nuke!"

Mami nods again, then moves forward while Homura vanishes. The three then set forth, pummeling Walpurgis while it desperately flings debris and fire in every direction, to no avail as it can hardly touch them. Eventually, they push it back into the designated location.

Once there, Mami commands them, "Kyouko, pin it down with spears! We need it to stay put while Homura comes back!"

"I can't hold it for that long with these things! It's like they can't even pierce it!" Kyouko argues.

Mami grits her teeth, "There has to be a way! If only-"

"I got it!" Sayaka pops up, running towards Walpurgis recklessly.

Both whip their heads around to see her, then Kyouko grabs her collar and protests, "No way! I won't let you! You're not going to sacrifice yourself just to hold that thing down!"

"It's the only way! Just let me go, I can handle it! Trust me!" Sayaka argues.

Kyouko's grip tightens. She persists, "No! I said no!"

But before their argument can continue, Homura pops up out of nowhere and startles everyone, "That won't be necessary."

They all jump and turn to her. Before they say anything, she tells Mami to bind them all together with a ribbon. Homura stops time just as Walpurgis begins to fly back up, and they all make a mad dash for the bride and riverside several miles away.

Once there, they all practically collapse on the spot except for Homura, who wastes no time unfreezing everything, then immediately detonating the bomb. She turns around and forces everyone to the ground, "Don't look at it!"

And before them, the sky lights up a bright orange color as a massive orb of nuclear hellfire escapes the skyline. Seconds later, the boom of the explosion vibrates everything around them, blowing out the glass of every building around them and emulating a brief earthquake. By the time the explosive way has passed everyone is covered in dust and figuratively coughing their lungs up.

The first thing anyone hears afterwards is Kyouko excitedly wooing.

"Everyone alright!?" Homura calls out.

"My ears are still ringing!" Sayaka complains.

"Still have my head!" Mami half-jokes.

"Good!" Homura confirms.

"Oh god..." Sayaka groans "...is it dead, yet? Please tell me it's dead."

A sharp, cackling laughter echoes across the city just a minute later.

"You have to be kidding." she says.

"Nope." Homura reassures. "Get ready! Round three!"

Walpurgisnacht's silhouette slowly advances, though from its distance it's actually pretty damn fast. It reveals itself among the smoke as it casts a barrage of spikes and flaming balls of concrete across the ground. Each one catches the girls by surprise, striking them directly and sending each one flying in separate directions.

Mami gets flung directly into a building across the river and has a chunk of another thrown on top of her. When she tries to blast her way out, she's met with three familiars blocking her path, followed by yet another building slamming against her.

Homura is thrown to the other side as well, halfway underwater, then back up and nearly impaled after being slammed into the railing and through two houses, only missing a stick of exposed rebar by a foot.

Kyouko is slammed into a nearby office building and dragged along its side, being baked by Walpurgis' fire breath in the process until she lands on its rooftop, too dazed to move.

Sayaka is thrown high into the air and rocketed into the clouds as the witch approaches, but she eventually deflects its spike and navigates herself above it! She rapidly descends upon it and brandishes her sword with both hands, plunging and screaming directly into it at terminal velocity and then some. Her sword stabs right through the giant gear and embeds itself while the force of the impact slams it into the river below and manages a small crack in the gear itself. A tidal wave of water erupts and nearly floods the streets, leaving the witch underwater while Sayaka makes some stairs out of magic to scale the water and get back onto land.

By the time they've all recovered and regrouped back at the riverbank, Walpurgis has risen yet again, seemingly unhindered.

Homura sighs, "Well, we tried."

Kyouko flips it off, " _Fuck_ this thing."

Meanwhile, Mami hugs Sayaka out of nowhere and starts sobbing something quietly. Everyone gathers and holds each other while Homura speaks, "Well, we can't kill it. Guess it's time to run. We still have four or five seeds left; should be enough to at least get out of here alive. Everyone, get to the shelter! Sayaka, tell your parents to evacuate! Mami, get Nagisa! I'll get Madoka if her parents won't get out! Kyouko, you're bait!"

"Hey!" Kyouko shouts.

Mami approaches, "But...all of these people will die!"

Homura grabs her by the shoulders, "Mami, we tried. A hundred times we tried and failed. We don't get any more chances. W-e f-a-i-l-e-d. It's better to take what we can and live to fight another day if you can't win, and I am _not_ losing you all again."

"You're scared." Mami points out.

Homura rolls her eyes, "I'm not scared, I'm being rational! If you want to fight a pointless battle and die for nothing, I can't stop you, but I want to live, and I'd like if the only people I ever called friends would come with me!" By the end, she's already choking up.

Mami takes a step back and mentions, "...You know, we still haven't used my weapon."

Homura is about to skeptically protest, but some twinge of hope makes her stay quiet.

"We need four grief seeds for it, but I think it will work."

"How do you know?" Homura asks.

Mami explains, "Madoka could kill this thing, right? She used magic attacks. This is essentially one huge magic cannon. If this thing is really vulnerable to magic, it will work."

Homura follows along. She considers it, and they all look up at Walpurgis. Finally, she relents, "Fine. But if this fails, you're the new bait."

Mami grins with determination and gives two thumbs up. She then takes her time materializing a giant, ivory cannon of sorts with long glass tubes along its side. The whole thing is about 20 times her size, and pointed directly at Walpurgisnacht.

"Everyone put your hands on it!" she yells. And so they do.

"On the count of three, transfer as much of your magic as you can into it without dying! Use a grief seed to recharge!"

Homura hands each one of them a seed.

" **One!** "

They all look Walpurgisnacht in the face.

" **Two!** "

Homura sees something strange behind it. "Wait...what is...?"

Everyone stares onwards as sort of blind light erupts from behind it.

 **Right in front of them, Walpurgisnacht is suddenly blown into tiny giblets by a giant explosion of white light! Its fragments shatter and fall into the river and rubble below, unceremoniously, and the storm it conjured by its mere existence begins to fade. All of its familiars begin screaming and running as their vanish into thin air. The only thing left behind is a figure floating where Walpurgisnacht once did. One with a distinct shape that makes Homura's heart sink to her feet as she collapses from the sight.**


	32. Beginning of the End

**End of Karma**

 **Chapter 32: Beginning of the End**

* * *

 **SYSTEMS -1f-**

 ** **›****

 ** **›**** **THE GREAT CLOCK FELL.**

 ** **›**** **AND WITHIN THE UNEASING SILENCE OF ITS ANNIHILATION, A GRAND, INAUDIBLE CACAPHONY OF SCREAMS IGNITED THE AIR ITSELF.**

 ** **›**** **AS IF KNOWING THEIR PLACE, OR FEARING TO BE KILLED IN FAVOR OF DESTROYING THEMSELVES, EVERYTHING DISAPPEARED.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS AT LEAST THEIR CHOICE.**

 ** **›**** **A PROPONENT OF FATE HAD GONE SOMEPLACE FAR AWAY IN THE BRIEF MOMENTS FOLLOWING.**

 ** **›**** **IN ITS ABSENCE, PERHAPS THE WORLD BRIEFLY BECAME A BETTER PLACE.**

 ** **›**** **BUT IMPURITY STILL PERSISTS.**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **WITH SAND SPILLING FROM IT, DAMP WITH BLOOD, TIME ITSELF BECAME IRRELEVANT.**

 ** **›**** **IT WAS AT THAT MOMENT WHERE THE WORLD STOOD STILL, AND REFUSED TO MOVE.**

 ** **›**** **EVEN BROKEN, ITS MECHANISM PERSISTS.**

 ** **›**** **TO PURIFY, WE MUST HAVE INDEFINITE TIME.**

 ** **›**** **AND SO FORTH, TODAY REMAINS TODAY.**

 ** **›**** **AND EVERY DAY THEREAFTER.**

 ** **›**** **ALL OF TIME IS "THE END".**

 ** **›**** **...**

 ** **›**** **OMENS.**

 ** **›**** **IF ONLY, ONE WISH.**

* * *

"No..." Homura says quietly a she stares up at the distinctly Madoka-shaped figure looming in the sky above Walpurgis' obliterated remains. "Madoka... No..." Her voice starts to crack as she panics, "No, no, no, _no, no,_ _ **no, no, NO!**_ "

Just then, a familiar voice calls out to her, "Homura, I'm here!"

Confused, everyone whips around to see...Madoka coming from their left? With Nagisa beside her, no less, running towards Mami. Homura does a double-take, "Wait, what? I thought..."

As the floating figure draws slowly closer, it dawns on her. Of course, Mami is the first to point it out, " **The Culmination!** "

Its stunning white glow presents itself as if to announce its unwelcomable presence. If they were all less hardened, they would have pissed themselves. Fortunately, they manage to only stand in place, frozen with awe and fear.

Homura, out of everyone, is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Her cracking voice makes it obvious, "W-With...one a-at... Attack!?"

Kyouko yells, "Just how freakishly strong is this thing!?"

A monotonous voice from behind answers, "There is no telling." They all turn to face Kyubey, arriving just in time for an exposition dump.

"Incubator..." Homura calls it with some bite, but still clearly rattled.

"Indeed, now-"

She interrupts, "Just shut up, already. We need to figure this out."

Having enough of being ignored, Madoka lashes out, "Homura! What's going on!?"

Homura clearly hesitates, "Well, uh... Wait, that's my line! I told you to stay in the shelter!"

"I couldn't just let you throw your life away! I know how this ends; we all do!"

Homura gradually tears up as she yells, "And it's all for you! If you die, everything was pointless, so why can't you just do as I say and stay out of trouble!?"

"I'm sorry, but I have my own reasons! I can't let you sacrifice yourself!"

Homura prepares to retort, but finds herself speechless, lest she say something hypocritical. Kyouko yells, interrupting the argument, "I hate to ruin this touching fight, but the thing that just killed the doomsday witch is looking pretty murder-y!"

They all stare up at it to find it drawing back a giant, white bow, creating a flaming, magical arrow of bleached flames. It aims directly at the lot of them.

Homura goes wide-eyed and does the first thing that comes to mind: grabbing Madoka and shoving her behind everyone while she goes up front and generates a barrier with her shield.

Sayaka steps out in front as well and gets right next to her, interlocking their shields and adding her own barrier which mixes in, "What, do you think that puny little thing is going to stop this monster?" She glances behind, "Mami! Kyouko! Come help!"

Mami pushes Nagisa into Madoka's care and tells the two, "Stay behind us!" She and Kyouko combine ribbons and lattice into a massive physical shield which wraps around the magic barrier in a sort of protective cocoon. Behind them, Mami prepares several flintlock mortars as a counterattack in case it tries to close in.

"God, I hope this holds..." Kyouko wishes.

"It will! I swear on my grave!" Homura assures her.

The Culmination watches curiously as they raise their shield, but it hardly cares enough to continue for more than a minute. As soon as it stops caring, it looses the arrow which morphs into a massive, constant beam of white light and magic that crashes spectacularly into the barrier with the collective force of an entire hurricane. Behind the shield, they can feel the shock as the beam tears through every layer of defense like a hot knife through snow, with earth-shaking force. The lattice shatters like glass. The ribbons practically melt. The barrier immediately begins to give when it tears through. Slowly, it begins eating a hole through it.

"Dammit!" Kyouko yells "This is crazy! We can't even defend against it! The only thing that hurts it is magic attacks! What are we supposed to do, scratch it to death!?"

Homura growls at her deeper than anyone thought her voice could reach, "Just shut up and HELP!"

"How!?"

Losing her edge, Homura pauses, "I...don't know! Just do something!"

As they speak, the barrier begins to crumble. Just as she's losing confidence, Homura is suddenly hugged from behind by Madoka offering support.

"You can do this! I believe in you!" Madoka says.

It gives Homura pause, in which some sort of switch inside her flips. With a sudden burst of strength, she pours all of her frustration and determination into her shield, making all of the barrier's damage rapidly heal! The beam of light finally gives in and explodes against it ineffectually, disappearing into sparkles of light.

They all finally let the shield down and smile at each other. But just as they're about to celebrate their achievement, Nagisa's terrified screech points their attention behind them, where The Culmination has appeared far too close.

In an instant, it zips in front of Sayaka and lifts its hand. Sayaka barely has time to guard before it backhands her shield and sends her flying across the top of the water and into the ground in a blinding flash.

Homura pushes Madoka out of the way while she pulls out a grenade, "GET DOWN!"

Just as her shield begins spinning but jams, The Culmination turns just its head backwards, followed by the rest of its body, and pulls its bow back again.

Before she can get hit, Mami fires her mortars directly at it, momentarily stunning and distracting it long enough for the grenade to fly. Of course, a tiny grenade would hurt it, but this is a smoke grenade! Smoke pours out and forces it to fly upwards while they try to retreat.

Mami continues to pelt it with ineffectual bullets while Homura runs off with the other two, and Kyouko uses her giant spear to launch herself towards where Sayaka landed. With no clear target, The Culmination fires an arrow into the sky and activates its own _Pluvia Magica,_ sending hundreds of arrows raining all over the city!

Kyouko's spear is blown in half as she launches herself, sending her prematurely into the river. Sayaka, having just gotten up, is forced to tank through a dozen of them and is practically pinned. Homura manages to get the two humans to safety before she's struck almost directly, then the monster comes down and personally beats her into a house that collapses on top of her, and leaves a nasty mark on her arm. It then teleports to Mami who is deftly dodging and batting away arrows, but its sudden appearance takes her by surprise. It attacks physically, she guards with a musket which is broken in half by the strike. They repeat this with interspersed shooting for several minutes.

Meanwhile, Madoka runs into the house and, with Nagisa's help, finds and fishes Homura out of the rubble. Half-conscious, she needs to be shaken awake before she'll get up and start making her way back outside. Kyouko eventually manages to swim to the other side of the river and meet up with Sayaka, who she helps out of the suppressive fire before the two start crossing the bridge.

In the midst of their heated exchange, Mami and The Culmination are stopped when at least 20 rockets all simultaneously explode in its face! They both look up to see empty launchers falling from above and Homura standing at the edge of a rooftop, holding a detonator in one hand and an LMG in the other. As soon as she starts firing, Mami retreats. And as soon as she's clear, Homura disappears and the buildings surrounding The Culmination all explode, collapsing into it!

The two girls meet up a block away and discuss. Mami begins, "What do we do, now?"

"Escape."

"How? It can teleport."

"We need to lose it, first. I have the vehicle set up not too far from here. We can use that to drive off once the coast is clear."

"You can drive?"

"I'm 26, Mami."

"Technically, you're not."

"Technically, I can."

Both roll their eyes at each other. Of course, their banter is short-lived, as The Culmination blasts out of the rubble afar and rises into the sky. Just as they're about to continue the attack, Sayaka flies in from behind and tells them, "I got this! Make sure everyone is safe!"

Before they can say anything, she's off again. Homura scoffs, "She's going to get herself killed for no reason..." Instead of listening, they head out to assist her while figuring out how to lose the damn thing in a way that doesn't involve a sacrifice, or at least get an opening to escape.

But of course, that wouldn't happen. They engage it and exchange blow after blow, exhausting their tactics and energy without much success; it stays on each of them like glue. Kyouko eventually arrives to join the fight, which goes on for another ten minutes before each of them is right back at the riverbank where they started, beaten to a pulp. Despite this, they stand before it as it floats above them apathetically and stares. Silence overcomes them.

Of course Kyubey would lecture them about this, "I was attempting to tell you that we have new information. Perhaps most of it can wait until we are safe to discuss, but for now I will tell you that The Culmination can outlast and overpower all of you combined. You have wasted your magic and energy trying to beat it when you should have used one of yourselves as bait to prevent it from following your escape. It may seem god-like, but I assure you that it is not omniscient or omnipresent as we initially thought."

At the end of his lecture, another familiar voice penetrates the dark quiet, " **Madoka,** what do you think you're doing!?"

Junko strides confidently into view in nothing but casualwear, but still looking angrier than anyone else in the group; more than anyone has seen her before.

"Mom!?" Madoka yelps, fear striking her eyes.

Junko walks up to her and slaps her in the cheek, "That's for running away, out here, without telling me!" She slaps her again, "And that's for trying to keep all of this a secret!"

Madoka would have started crying, but is too stupefied by her last sentence, "E-Eh...?"

Homura immediately realizes what's happening and explains to her, "Ah... There were a few timelines where she ended up learning and seeing more than she should have. I was hoping she wouldn't remember."

Sayaka comments, "No way..."

Homura approaches them, "M- ...I mean, Junko! Listen, it's dangerous here. You need to take these two and get out of the city while you still can!"

While watching, The Culmination cocks its head and lowers its weapon.

Junko looks up at the monster that resembles her daughter, then back at Homura with a determined glare, "...That's another witch, isn't it?"

Homura sighs, "It's something."

Junko closes her eyes and breathes deeply, "...And you can't beat it, can you?"

Homura doesn't answer, but Junko can tell what the truth is just by looking. She turns to The Culmination and takes a few steps forward. "You kids get out of here!" she yells back.

Everyone practically gasps. Madoka steps forward, "Mom, no! You don't understand! You'll die!"

Homura follows, "She's right! You can't do this, it's not your burden to bear!"

"Excuse me?" Junko says with a slight bite to her tone.

Homura takes a few steps back.

Junko addresses them both, "I'm a businesswoman second, and a mother first. A mother's job is to protect her children, first and foremost! **So don't you ever tell me not to do my job, again!** "

She picks up a pistol that Homura had dropped and checks it before pointing it at The Culmination.

"No..." Homura whispers as she continues to backpedal, eyes widening.

"Mom, please, don't!" Madoka cries out.

Nagisa clings to her leg, "Madoka, what is she doing?" Madoka can't find the strength to even answer.

After clearing her throat, Junko begins to belt out, "Alright! I don't know who or what you are, or why you look like my little girl, but what I do know is that I'm the thing that's going to stand between you and these kids! As long as I'm still standing here, you won't lay a damn finger on any of them!"

Homura begins to internally panic. She's too far away to stop Junko physically, in time. Too quick of a motion and they're both dead. If Junko fires, she dies. If Homura does nothing, Junko dies. If anyone else attacks, they die. Time stop is almost certainly malfunctioning and probably won't work or buy her enough time. As if things couldn't possibly get worse, she then notices Walpurgis' grief seed slowly descending several meters away, at the bank of the river. Said to be able to fuel a girl for years, having it would be a huge benefit. But without time stop, she can't get it. Everything is screwed. Someone is about to die.

In a last ditch effort, she tries to turn the shield back to reverse time. Predictably, nothing happens, and Junko continues, "I don't care if you're a supernatural monster, a demon, or even a god! I'll stand up to anything that tries to hurt my daughter! So you can run now, or we can stand off right now! I'll take us both down if I have to, you hear me!?"

It pulls its bow back. Homura goes into a further panic, attempting to stop time but witnessing another jam which continuously clacks with every attempt. "Work, dammit!" Homura yells, hitting it to no effect. With no other option, she grits her teeth and prepares to face death head-on. She pulls a revolver out of her shield and aims it squarely at The Culmination, preparing to fire.

And then Kyubey shows back up. He starts talking to Madoka, "Kaname Madoka, you could stop all of this. Perhaps you don't need to change fate or the universe itself, but you could stop something this small."

Homura and The Culmination both aim directly at Kyubey as soon as he mentions the idea. Both end up indecisively swapping between their respective targets. Everyone else knows their place. They don't move for fear of being blown to pieces in an instant.

It isn't enough. She doesn't understand, but it just isn't enough. Junko yells at it more, "Do you understand me!?" then turns back around and yells at the others, "Dammit, I told you all to run!"

Homura shakes her head, "No! You don't understand! You can't do this!"

"I SAID GO!" Junko screams, then prepares to fire.

Homura's entire body shoots up as if hit by static. She whips her head around, "Mami, prepare the weapon! We're out of options! Do it quick!"

Mami looks at her as if she's crazy, "We don't have that kind of time!" She only receives a scowl in response.

Junko is no longer hesitating. Neither is Homura.

Both take aim. Homura decides in a rush to hit Kyubey. Her hands shake violently.

Junko holds steady, seemingly accepting of her own likely fate.

The gears start spinning again.

 **CHINK.**

In the midst of the deafening sounds of her own thoughts running at the speed of light, Homura can hear nothing but the gunshot. It startles her just enough.

She misses. Kyubey runs off.

But before she can whip her aim back around to hit The Culmination, it's already too late.

 **CHINK,** the shield continues.

A moment's hesitation makes their collective hearts drop. Before their eyes, Junko is practically eviscerated by the arrow. With a gaping hole of seeping gore replacing her lower body, she collapses backwards and stains the ground.

Homura drops to her knees and tries to scream, but nothing comes out.

 **CHINK.** The shield jams repeatedly, in a slow rhythm, each whir and clank and beat of the jamming creating a mechanical cacophony built only to mock her.

It takes a moment for it to register, but Madoka lets out a bloodcurdling shriek when it does. To that, Homura's hair stands on end, and she parrots her quietly and to herself.

Finally, the jam undoes itself. Time freezes, leaving her in lamenting silence. After taking a moment to absorb the scene around her and recover from the shock, she gets up and languidly retrieves the grief seed. She approaches Mami and unfreezes her, "We have time, now. Use it." she says in a cold, quiet tone.

Still shaking slightly, Mami nods and gulps. In minutes, the Holy Quartet is pulled into Homura's timeflow and the giant cannon is set up and pointed directly at The Culmination.

All of their seeds were used up in the fight save one or two, but Walpurgis' seed grants them some semblence of hope. Homura explains the plan briefly as they all gather around and pour all of their magic into the cannon. The four guages on the sides fill up with correspondingly colored light. Once done, Homura goes around purifying everyone's souls.

Finally, it's time. They all step away except for Mami.

" **Tiro...** " Mami slowly builds up, the weapon draining the tubes gradually.

" **...Finale...!** " The barrel heats up a dull orange and the glasses are all emptied. The inside begins to glow an array of colors.

Homura unfreezes time.

" **...GALASSIA!** " Mami screams at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying through the entire city with its sheer ferocity!

In the blink of an eye, The Culmination's entire body is overtaken by an immense wave-motion beam of polychromatic light which hums with a sharp moan as it cuts through the very air and burns it into vapor! The heat is even so intense that the cannon itself is melted and ignited after just a second. In only a few, it must cease firing and fall apart.

By the time it finishes, The Culmination's form has been completely mangled and anchored to its position in the air. What would be its limbs have morphed into amorphous white flames that intertwine with some dark mass inside of it, fighting to maintain form. Its head twists and spins and spills black, starry ooze which covers the rest of its form, which continuously flickers in and out of existence as if it were a corrupted program. With every second, it lets out a different grunt, groan, or scream in what they can only assume is pain.

Homura quickly realizes that despite the attack's success, they still don't have much time to move. She acts quickly, marching over to Junko's body where Madoka is kneeling before her and sobbing her heart out. Homura grabs her by the arm and tries to pry her away.

"NO! NOOO! MOMMA!" she kicks and screams. Nagisa is taken away by Mami.

"Goddammit, Madoka, we don't have time for this! We need to move or we're all dead!" Homura scolds her.

Madoka only continues to thrash around. Homura eventually has to restrain her lest both of them get hurt, "This is our only chance! Come on!"

But still, she doesn't listen. Homura has to pick her up and carry her, blood-stained clothes and all.

And despite the injury she sustained, Junko still manages to speak up in the chaos. Madoka quiets down just to hear her.

"H...Hom...ura. You... You're a...goo...kid. Ta...care...my...da..." She inhales sharply and spews out blood. Before she can finish the sentence, she's out and cold.

As much as she would love to completely break down down right now, Homura toughs it out and keeps going. She carries Madoka, now silent. Mami carries Nagisa. Sayaka and Kyouko carry each other. As Homura freezes time again, they hastily limp away from the scene and settle into the rigged van. And they drive off.

Some time later, they've completely escaped the city. Not even a second later that they've gone at least ten miles beyond the line does the time stop quit on its own again. Luckily, they are so far out that they can see the skyline of the desecrated city in the near distance.

And then it's swallowed whole by an orb of light which outshines the sun itself, leaving nothing but a crater behind. Where once stood a city, there is a flat horizon. Everything is wiped out in an instant.

Everyone looks onward, already too much in shock to react with anything but thousand-yard stares. All they can really do is huddle around each other and hold each other tightly, in silence.

That silence is broken when Homura asks in her lowest audible volume, "What do we do, now?"

More silence, until Mami makes a suggestion, "...I know of a city where there are many of us. Had my eye on it for a while. It's a gamble, but our only real hope."

She looks back and towards the opposite horizon; the road ahead, with a determined glare, " **Kamihama.** "

* * *

 **And thus ends the Mitakihara Arc! Next: Kamihama Arc! That's right, this just turned into a spin-off crossover.**

 **The next chapter post will likely be my plans for this fic's future given my current life circumstances. It will be ultimate spoilers, so only read it if this thing doesn't end up getting past this first arc.**

 **If it does, it will be a while. I need to read the entirety of Magia Record's story and side-stories before I can write the characters accurately. It also needs to finish its story's timeline so I know what's going to change as a result of the memories coming back.**

 **Needless to say, another damn hiatus. I'm basically the Rebecca Sugar of fanfiction by now.**

 **Anyways, thank you for your continued readership. Seeing those comments is what makes my day.**


	33. (Meta) Plans for the Future

As I have stated in the past, the state of this fanfiction's completion is a matter of personal circumstance and time. The fact that Magia Record has yet to have an ending of any sort is a hamper on its own, but my own personal life is threatening to prevent me from completing ANY of my projects for years to come. Yes, it is a very grave circumstance. Unfortunately, I have no way of determining if the worst will come, or if this will just blow over. I would like to at least finish End of Karma before anything like that happens, so I am trying as hard as I can to buy time for that. In other words, the future of this and all of my other works is uncertain. This is why I've decided on an ultimatum:

 **The current date is March 12th, 2019 as of writing. If I have gone four (4) months without posting in this or any of my ongoing projects (including those on Fictionpress), the worst has likely come. If that is the case, it will be a very, very long time if this is ever finished, which is also unlikely. If this occurs, please feel free to read the intended future development for this fanfiction. Under no circumstance should you read below the horizontal ruler if you do not want to be spoiled on every detail of what is planned. If you want any amount of surprise or have any faith that this will be finished, please refrain from going any further than this.**

 **Seriously, stop right now if it isn't August of 2019.**

 **Really.**

 **Come on, I'm not kidding.**

 **Last chance.**

 **Are you still around? Get out of here.**

 **What do you mean you're "just curious"? This is for your own good.**

 **Dear Gaia, have a little patience.**

 **Did things seriously turn out this way?**

 **I mean, they must have if you're still reading.**

 **If you're not reading this, I probably deleted it and completed the whole thing, making all of this irrelevant. Or you just want to be spoiled.**

 **Okay, I don't care anymore. You want to ruin your own satisfaction? Go ahead.**

 **I can't even tell if I'm being passive-aggressive or tsundere, anymore.**

 **I mean, it's not like I want you to spoil yourself or anything, you baka.**

 **Come to think of it, tsundere Kyouko is an amusing idea. Isn't she already kind of tsundere? Or more of a tough love thing.**

 **Okay, I'll stop stalling, now. I think this is a sufficient height so that you have to scroll down a lot and dedicate yourself to the spoiling, so you don't accidentally read the spoilers in your peripheral vision while reading the warning which precedes them.**

 **That's right, this was just stalling! All according to keikaku.**

* * *

Okay, so here's what's planned.

After Mitakihara is destroyed by The Culmination, the gang goes on the road towards Kamihama. On the way, Sayaka would start to deride herself for not keeping to her wish to protect the people she loves, because she wasn't able to go back and save her parents or Madoka's dad and brother. Kyouko would snap her out of her depressive self-loathing by reminding her about all the shit they've technically been through in the past timelines. Mami would take her turn and simultaneously reveal her own perspective while comforting Sayaka. Sayaka would then settle down and learn to accept her losses. After all, they're still alive, and that's more than they should have gotten at all.

Homura would have to listen to them talking and end up pondering how Madoka is feeling. After all, she arguably lost the most. Fittingly, she's pretty catatonic for the next dozen chapters or so. Not receptive to anyone except Homura, and even then she's just a lot more quiet than usual. Lots of depression talk, suicidal ideation, temptation from Kyubey, etc. Homura would eventually pull her out of it in the midst of the second arc, but only through a lot of simple, heatwarming fluff.

As they get to Kamihama, they start to notice odd things happening. There appear to be doubles or triples of everything. Ghosts of the entire world in strange colors and shapes, congruent and yet separate to them. They see things that aren't there. Things pass right through them. It's as if they're passing through two worlds at the same time, but only able to interact with one. By the time they reach Kamihama, the city has gone into complete chaos. People are held up in their homes, magical girls are afraid to step foot outside their safehouses, everyone is excessively cautious, and it appears that a ghost of the city that had been destroyed by some catastrophe is looming over them. It's easy for them to pick out an apartment to set their own base in. Everything is pretty quiet, but they soon learn that it's actually an "eye of the storm" sort of quiet.

Homura, being the only one who can keep Madoka alive, is tasked with watching her and maintaining the base while Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka go out to scavenge for supplies. At the same time, Kyubey informs them that The Culmination wasn't destroyed in that explosion. It was merely trying desperately to destroy them before it lost track of them. He also reveals all of the new info he has about it and what's happening on the incubator homeworld. That is, the whole species has not only been nearly wiped out, but its deceased have been converted by something called "The Four Pillars" into magi-mechanical abominations which work like drones to maintain control and repair of the Karma Dynamo. He also reveals what he thinks to be their plan: The complete assimilation of the universe. The Four Pillars have been slowly converting everything they touch into magical machinery, incorporating it into a massive one-mind. They show no signs of stopping, and are actually growing exponentially quickly. He estimates they only have a couple of months before they develop the ability to infect other worlds, and at that point it's only a matter of time before everything is absorbed. Once it is, the universe will be left stagnant and unmoving, the gears of fate having ceased to function as a result of the percieved abuse of Karmic Energy. He also claims that The Culmination is likely a supernatural entity which was created by the Karma Dynamo's operation. There was also the point that one of the Four Pillars managed to breach containment. Kyubey believes that this is what caused the virus of assimilation to manifest. He also tells them that The Culmination is clearly intelligent and has some sort of specific goal in mind, and that it has been going around and destroying hundreds upon hundreds of witches around the world.

Given all of this new information, the girls surmise that the Karma Dynamo has to be stopped at all costs. So, they hatch a plan to assemble an army of magical girls and use the incubators' teleporting technology to go to their homeworld and lead a direct assault on the machines. Kyubey also warns them that his and Homura's theory about the multiple universes trying to merge together due to the incredible amount of Karmic Energy she's created is now definitely true, which explains the ghostly images they're seeing. He warns that they're going to see a lot of strange things in this city, and to prepare themselves mentally. Enter the rest of the arc, which involves Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko recruiting all of the major Magia Record teams. These include:

Iroha, Yachiyo, Sana, Felicia, and Tsuruno.

Rika, Ren, Hinano, and Emiri.

Meiyui, Kako, Nanaka, and Akira.

Momoko, Kaede, and Rena.

Masara and Kokoro.

Ayame, Konoha, and Nazuki.

Masara and Asuka.

Mito, Reira, and Seika.

The rest of the girls are either dead or in hiding. The Wings of Magius were killed by both the magical girls of Kamihama and The Culmination. The girls mistake Madoka for The Culmination initially and freak out, but the situation is explained to them. They reveal how gruesome the battle was, and how the "monster" didn't just kill them. It slaughtered them. There was no competition or mercy.

Now, as a result of the universes colliding, both Rumors and Witches have fused together into super-witches that plague the city and require teams of four to take down. With the unprecedented ferocity that regular witches have been attacking with so far, this actually scares Mami. Mami also initially scares Iroha's team.

While this recruiting and shit is going on, a dozen chapters or so are dedicated to each of the magireco girls/pairings and their dynamics in the face of such incredible circumstances. Additionally, the mitakihara girls all at some point interact with the ghosts that are appearing everywhere. The most affected is Homura, who sees the long-gone version of herself and starts to acquire a flood of memories from those unrelated alternate universes. It is her introspection in the face of these visions which causes her to realize just what her true feelings are. Through the pain of looking at the remnants of what could have been, she finds a resolve that she had long since abandoned.

Once all is said and done, they prepare their forces and set out to the Incubator homeworld with a battle plan. Homura tries to make Madoka stay behind in case something goes wrong, but she refuses on the grounds of having nothing to lose by going except her life, and that wouldn't be worth living if they fail. Reluctantly, she allows it.

Enter the Final Battle arc. The girls all arrive at the incubator homeworld, a stockpile of grief seeds in one hand and the conviction of elite warriors in the other. The next several chapters are them making their way to the Karma Dynamo, which is a giant tower with a green-black cloud swirling above it like a hurricane that eclipses the entire planet, and battling against the frontline forces. They're introduced to a variety of enemies that all have different gimmicks to them which makes them frustrating to defeat, and they learn that every time they defeat one of these things, it will just resurrect later on. They're defeatable, but not killable. To counteract this, most of the army is tasked with taking care of the outside forces by perpetually killing and distracting them while the Holy Quartet (and Madoka and Nagisa) sneak into the tower and try to penetrate its defenses so they can get to the mainframe and shut it down. Or, if that fails, destroy the Four Pillars which control everything.

Their plan is mostly a success. The girls manage to get into the tower, but quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the horrid maze of ornate, witch-like, semi-organic walls and mechanisms. Through several different layers, they explore the tower and try to find the main section, but end up having to split up. When they reach the mainframe, they find that the Four Pillars (Or three, since one escaped) have become sentient and transformed the entire computer system into a mechanical brain. They can't even access the security and failsafe measures. So, while Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko try to figure out a way past the computer, Madoka, Homura, and Kyubey split from the group to find an alternative way of shutting it down.

What they find is horrifying. They accidentally wander off into the lower levels, where they come upon the "Generator Core": A semi-perpetual generator which utilizes an orb filled with soul gems and grief seeds to repeatedly purify and curse the souls, forcing their materialization into witches which are instantly destroyed and recycled by a beam of concentrated plasma which is constantly berrating the orb's center. Well, it's more of a torus than an orb. This machine generates just enough energy to run both itself and the mainframe of the tower, which allows the Dynamo to function and create even more energy.

Kyubey notes that even if they destroy it, the dynamo is still creating more than enough energy to replace it. Homura is utterly disgusted by everything before her, but can't bring herself to destroy it if it means killing all of those girls who are probably trapped in god-knows-where while their souls are tortured perpetually. Reluctantly, they head back up and try to reach the top of the tower.

Meanwhile, the battle outside is growing desperate. Nobody has died yet, but the girls are running out of stamina and magic. Not only that, but The Culmination has finally showed up and starts wreaking havoc. It kills the remaining incubators except for Kyubey, then heads for the battlefield. In a matter of a chapter or two, girls are getting bodied left and right. The field medics drag at least 7 of them out of battle, Rena and Rika almost die, Momoko's team is straight-up murdered while trying to defend everyone from The Culmination, and the only ones still really fighting are the chinese team and Iroha's team. In a pinch, Kyouko decides to run out and help them, and ends up saving their lives.

But alas, the point has failed. The machines have noticed that the tower has been penetrated, and they flood in all at once to trap them. Mami, Sayaka, and Nagisa are all attacked while still in the mainframe. Mami gets floored trying to kill them, and Sayaka is forced to hold back the swarm with the hope that Iroha's team will attack from behind and pinch the enemy to death.

And then they run out of grief seeds. Mami dies, Sayaka is losing her stamina, there's no end to the battle in sight, and over half of their forces are either dead or incapacitated. The enemy isn't even close to dead, and now The Culmination is being held back by Kyouko/the chinese team and threatens to kill all of them at a moment's notice. It almost does, too. The chinese team is beaten to a pulp by it and go limping back to the incubator safehouse where they started, only to find that it has been wrecked and all of the elder incubators are dead. They set to work trying to salvage the teleporter, lest they be stuck here.

Back in the tower, Homura and Madoka encounter a boss machine and are held back from the actual Dynamo. Kyubey has mysteriously vanished from their view. While she battles it, Nagisa calls out to him in submission and decides to wish Mami back to life in order to save them. This triggers the Four Pillars which start going haywire, trying to attack Nagisa but not being able to get out. Kyubey leads her down the center of the mainframe room, past the beam of plasma and into a hidden section below where the cores of the Four Pillars are. He explains that once she releases them, they should be killable, and that would end this entire battle. So, she breaks the glass containing them.

It is then revealed that the Four Pillars were actually magical girls kept right on the verge of becoming witches, but not quite there yet. Their gems become strange hybrids of Soul Gem and Grief Seed, and their witch-like forms spew forth and attack. Everyone is forced down into the generator room where they do battle with the three leftover Pillars. At the same time, the souls being trapped in the generator itself are fusing with the pillars and making them even more powerful.

By the time Homura defeats the machine, the entire tower is being overtaken by the pillars, the halls are being flooded by the Karma Monsters, and the ground troops are at their limit and can't hold back The Culmination any longer. Still, they finally reach the top of the tower.

The Karma Dynamo is this weird, metallic series of segmented disks and plates that are magnetically levitating above each other and spinning rapidly, generating this greenish glow which arcs between the claws which protrude from the sides of the structure. That electricity also arcs into the sky and creates what looks like lightning. The environment they stumble upon is turbulent to say the least. Just as Homura contemplates just blowing up the dynamo right there, Kyubey arrives in a hurry and explains that if she just blows it up, it'll take all of them with it. Her best bet is to either set a time bomb and escape as soon as possible, carefully take the dynamo apart, or wait until the others shut down the power.

Homura decides to try taking it apart by removing the disks, but quickly finds herself getting shocked and thrown back with such force that it knocks her out and almost entirely corrupts her soul gem. Kyubey theorizes that it must have drawn the magic out of her all at once because she touched it with her left hand. Madoka then figures that since she's human, she can touch it. So she tries, and it actually works. The only pain she feels is a benign but painful current zapping her. However, she isn't actually strong enough to remove the disks. With no other options, Kyubey begins trying to talk her into contracting to solve the problem.

Meanwhile, Homura goes into a deep dream where she's at home with two faceless parents, a table full of friends, and Madoka who is the only detailed one. Here, she begins repeating the same sort of day over and over where she lives a relatively normal and happy life where everyone loves her and there are no horrible tragedies to be seen. The characters in the dream all beg Homura to stay with them, and she is tempted with the same fate that she had in the first arc when she ate dinner with Madoka's family. This time, it's happening again, and she has every reason to do it. She is presented with a choice: Either follow the dream Madoka's wishes and wake up, or freeze time outside of the dream so she can live out what would seem like an eternity in bliss. At this point, several different endings would be detailed.

In ending B (A Happy Ending[?]), Madoka doesn't hesitate and makes the contract, with the wish: " _I wish for another universe; one that isn't doomed to die, where there's no need for magic or witches, and where nobody needs to feel despair!_ "

As she makes her wish, Homura wakes up and is powerless to stop her. The Culmination arrives and tries to attack Madoka, so Homura attempts to freeze time. It doesn't work. She tries to turn back time. It doesn't work. So, she throws herself in front of madoka and gets completely demolished by the attack just as the contract finishes. Madoka makes short work of The Culmination by batting it away with her now immense power, then aims her bow into the sky and begins a cascade of arrows to wipe out the Karma Monsters. Then, as the beam from above starts to make its way toward the tower, she grabs Homura and shares a moment with her.

As the beam crashes down and systematically annihilates the tower and everything on the planet, she and Homura (who she includes in her wish as a second thought) both ascend to goddesshood. The old universe is left on its own, but a new universe is created in which they both rule as a sort of single, dualistic entity that watches over everything.

In the new universe, it is completely stable and won't die from heat death, but relies on the goddesses' power to keep it together. Magical Girls, Witches, and Incubators do not exist in the new universe, but everything is manipulated to result in a similar outcome. This essentially creates a non-magical AU where new Madoka and Homura meet under normal circumstances and have the life they always should have while the original two watch them from above.

It ends on an ambiguous note where it's unsure if this is actually an ideal or even sustainable ending. Sort of like Rebellion's ending. It is implied that this universe will eventually succumb to the same fate as the first, whether the goddesses like it or not.

In ending C (Cyclical Nature), it follows like ending B but Homura's time rewind actually works, and she goes back to repeat the entire story again.

In ending D (A Dream Within a Nightmare), It follows like B, except that Homura doesn't wake up from her lotus-eater dream. Instead, she becomes enraptured by it. She realizes that it must end at some point, but is so happy there that she doesn't want it to. So, she uses her time stop to stop time in the dream, and then in real life. Then, she detaches herself from her own powers in order to completely freeze herself in time. This traps the universe into a state of infinite timelessness. Ends on an extremely hopeless, melancholy note.

In ending E (The Worst Ending), it follows like ending B, except that Homura doesn't wake up in time to stop The Culmination from killing Madoka, then Kyubey. Homura wakes up and tries to turn back time, but it doesn't work. So, she despairs and becomes a witch, which is subsequently destroyed by The Culmination. With both of them dead, the other girls are left to be picked off by the Karma Monsters and the four pillars.

In the end, every magical girl on the incubator homeworld dies and the incubators are wiped out. The four pillars and The Culmination start to spread their plague across the universe, turning everything into Karma Monsters until it devours the entire universe. In the end, all sentient life except for the monsters ends, and the universe is turned into a giant witch labyrinth created by the four pillars.

This leaves every form of life sentient in the universe dead. Universal balance is restored and the Karma Dynamo is still left standing, but unoperational. Given that nothing is left, it takes another billion years before more life rises. This alien life eventually discovers the Karma Dynamo and Incubator tech, inadvertently renewing the cycle. Ends on a depressing, horrible, tragic note that leaves a bitter taste.

But in the true ending, A (Pyrrhic Victory), Homura wakes up from her dream before Madoka can contract. She blows Kyubey's head off and effectively wipes out the incubators, making a contract impossible. The Culmination arrives and is about to kill them, but stops when it realizes the situation.

Homura realizes the error of her thinking and helps Madoka to truly believe that she doesn't need to be a magical girl to be useful or special. Homura gives her a purpose in life that she never had before, and the two resolve to rise above their faults and differences in order to work together to better each other and the world.

After they apologize profusely to each other and share _the_ kiss, the universe's ambient karma dissipates since the crisis over Madoka contracting is now over, and her fate has been defeated. The sky clears and the dynamo stops operating. The dark ooze, which is revealed to be the missing pillar that had fused with The Culmination and corrupted it, retracts from The Culmination and leaves its barest, uncorrupted form intact. The Culmination then realizes its own error and fulfills its duty to protect the natural fate and balance of the universe from being tampered with by sacrificing itself in order to remove the soul gem system.

The Culmination vanishes, putting Homura's soul back into her body and getting rid of her magical powers. A huge wave of karmic energy washes over the universe and destroys every witch in existence, then purifies every magical girl's soul and returns them to their bodies. Magical girls no longer exist, the incubators are wiped out, all witches are dead, the alternate universe separate and leave the world as it once was, The Culmination ceases to be, and the Karma Dynamo sits on the incubator homeworld as a reminder to all that has happened so far.

Despite the happy ending, many people still died. Mitakihara is still destroyed, everyone is still without parents, and many of the girls who fought in the battle died. The left over magical girls create a sort of memorial at the site before returning to earth via teleporter and holding a proper funeral in the company of all of Kamihama's ex-magical girls.

The story ends on a bittersweet note that despite the great costs, everyone finally managed to achieve a mostly normal, not-doomed life. Homura concludes that it was all worth it just to be free, but everyone else remains quiet. Though melancholic, they end up living fulfilling human lives. The sacrifice that everyone made at the battle lives on as a folk legend between ex-magical girls, who pass it on to their children for generations to come. Perhaps there could also be a "where are they now?" segment.

But then, in ending F (Rest), it follows just like ending A, but getting rid of the magical girl system also kills all of the magical girls. After a heartfelt goodbye, Madoka is left alone at the battlefield to contemplate everything. The rest of the following chapter is her returning to earth and living on for the next few years as an orphan before she eventually commits suicide in order to 'be with the people she loves'. Ends on a tranquil, but very depressing note.

* * *

Of course, ending A is the true ending. B is the "good" ending, and E is the bad ending. They're all bad in a way, but A is easily the best of them for everyone involved. The happiest this story gets is bittersweet, and that's just how I like it.

And that is all there is. Those are my plans for the future of this fic. I'm sorry if you had to read all of that instead of experiencing it. Hopefully whoever does read it, if this thing doesn't get finished, will take the opportunity to finish it themselves so everyone can at least get some closure. I welcome it, really.

That's pretty much it. If you're reading this, either this thing is never going to be completed by me, or curiosity killed the reader. If the former, I apologize, but it isn't my fault. Mostly. If the latter, I guess it can't be helped. Either way, thank you again for your loyalty. I hope that some of you eventually find my original works and enjoy them as well, since I'll be creating those in the future no matter how this goes.

So without further delay, それじゃ またね！


	34. Update

**Update:**

It has been about 3 months, and the situation is still unknown. This is just an update to ensure you that no, this fic is not dead and is being worked on, currently.

The english version of Magia Record arrives on the 25th of the month this is posted in, so progress should speed up considerably after that. The entire thing is predicted to be done in about 4 months after that. If nothing bad happens, it will be posted shortly after completion in one big post. During that time, this post and the previous will be deleted.

In the meantime, I am also doing some smaller one-shots to tide everyone over. Please look forward to a few of those.

Again, this is just an update.


	35. Another Update

This is just another update to confirm that, yes, this fic is still alive. I've been posting one-shots here and there to tide you all over for a time, and I'm still waiting on some translations before I can fully research all of the characters necessary to continue onto the second arc of the story.

Given the North American release of Magia Record has hit and gotten some rapid developments, I predict it won't be long before I'm ready to start wrapping this thing up. Currently, the outlines of the first several chapters are done and the text is about there, while the latter parts are still very much under construction.

If real life events do not permanently stop me from developing this fic to its conclusion, you can rest assured it will be finished within the next 300 days, after which I will either begin work on an original fiction or a separate, smaller fanfiction project. Please look forward to it.

Thank you for your patience and dedication. I cannot thank those of you who have stuck around enough.

— With love, Lucifina Laurel, AKA Darkbeetlebot.


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